Going by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Benue State House of Assembly is not answerable to the National Assembl
In a bold move, the Benue and Zamfara State Houses of Assembly have rejected summons issued by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions.
IREPORT247NEW had earlier reported that the House of Representatives committee on Public Petitions summoned the Governors of Zamfara and Benue states along with the leadership of the two states’ Houses of Assembly to appear before the committee on Thursday, May 8 to explain why their functions should not be taken over by the House of Representatives.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the committee’s head of Media, Chooks Oko, on Friday.
The executive and legislative arms of the two states are to appear before the committee to explain why their constitutional functions should not be taken over by the House of Representatives because of the insecurity.
According to the statement, the summon was sequel to a petition written by a civil rights organisation, Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law, which urged the House to take over the functions of the two Houses of Assembly.
The assembly argued that the summons contravened the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, specifically highlighting the separation of powers between the federal and state governments.
Leading the debate, the House Majority Leader, Saater Tiseer, criticized the invitation as ignorant of constitutional boundaries.
Saater Tiseer said, “Going by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Benue State House of Assembly is not answerable to the National Assembly. Section 101 empowers the House to regulate its own procedure without external interference”
The assembly’s resolution reflects a strong stance against perceived federal overreach and a commitment to defending state autonomy.