Gombe Legislators Ask Speaker to Resign over Constitution Review

Segun Awofadeji in Gombe

Seven members of Gombe State House of Assembly yesterday asked their Speaker, Hon Abubakar Luggerewo to step aside if he could not present the position of the assembly to the National Assembly on the proposed alteration of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended).

Luggerewo, in a swift response, denied the allegations by the group, noting that the assembly could only act on the matter after receiving the ad-hoc committee’s report.

The lawmakers jointly called for the speaker’s resignation at a session with journalists yesterday accusing him of sinister moves by dragging his feet in mobilising the voices of the people of the state to make their position on the proposed constitution review which ended last Thursday.

The spokesman of the group,Hon.Ibrahim Ayala appealed to the National Assembly for another opportunity to be able to collate and present the position of the state.

He said: “We want to put it on record that the leadership of the House in particular, the Speaker, has been employing various tactics to frustrate the process and disenfranchise the good people of Gombe from making their voices heard through us as their representatives.”

After conducting a retreat for the members of the House and a public hearing, he explained that the speaker wanted to unilaterally drown out the voices of the people of Gombe State on what he described as an important national duty.

He said all the State Houses of Assembly were expected “to transmit all their positions on or before September 15. But the Gombe State House of Assembly has been under lock and key and the Speaker is reluctant or has blatantly refused to convene plenary for us to vote on the constitutional alteration.”

The lawmaker therefore called for the convocation of plenary on Tuesday, September 20 to enable them give concurrence to the bills for consideration.

Those that signed the statement and were present included: Yahaya Mohammed Kaka, Akko North constituency; Markus Samuel, Pero Chonge constituency; Bashir Barau Yakubu, Kaltungo West constituency; Bappah Usman, Funakaye South constituency; Tulfukut M Kardi, Billiri West constituency; Hamza Adamu, Balanga constituency and Rambi Ibrahim Ayala, Billiri East.

Responding to the allegation, however, the speaker denied the allegations by the group of legislators saying the assembly could only act on the matter after receiving the ad-hoc committee’s report.

According to him, the group got it all wrong more so that the House under his leadership is ever ready to discharge their responsibility anytime the House receives the report.

On the submission deadline to the National Assembly, Luggerewo said it was the assembly that gave themselves September 15 and not the National Assembly, adding that the federal legislature only asked them to submit before the commencement of political campaigns.

He said as at the moment, only 12 states had presented their positions promising that the Gombe State House of Assembly would be the next to present its position.

Among the 44 bills up for consideration to be affirmed by the House of Assembly comprise local government autonomy; autonomy of the state assembly, autonomy of the state judiciary, compulsory and free education and food security.