Members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly have rejected the seven-member panel constituted by the State Chief Judge, Justice Suleiman Dikko to probe allegations they made against the state governor, Umaru Al-Makura.
The lawmakers decision came after its sitting in a distant local government, Karu, far away from the Assembly Complex in Lafia, the state capital.
Citing insecurity, 19 members of the Assembly, all members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state held their sitting at a building in Karu Local Government Area, behind the local government secretariat, at the end of which they rejected the panel, accusing Justice Dikko of disobeying the constitution in setting up the panel.
Announcing the decision of the Assembly, Speaker Musa Mohammed said that the composition of the panel negates the provision of Section 188 of the Constitution, adding that the panel has no right to sit until a guideline is forwarded to them by the Assembly.
He alleged that the panel was not formed in compliance with Section 188-5 of the constitution that demands that people of integrity to be appointed into the panel.
The Assembly based its decision on a petition written by a group, Nasarawa Concerned Citizens, alleging irregularities in the composition of the panel.
The petition, which was read on the floor of the Assembly, alleged that two of the seven members of the panel are card carrying members of PDP while others are in the pay roll of the state government.
Deliberating on the petition, Francis Orogu (PDP, said that the panel is in complete disagreement with provisions of the constitution and urged the chief judge to ‘do the right thing to redeem his image.’
Also contributing, Abdulkarim Usman asked the chief judge to reconstitute the panel, while Danladi Jatau moved a motion urging the chief judge to dissolve the panel while Philip Gyunka supported the motion.
The speaker then directed the clerk to communicate the resolution to the chief judge.
Reacting to the resolution of the Assembly, the Nasarawa State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Innocent Lagi, said that the action of the Assembly is the highest level of insanity and urged residents of the state to disregard the resolution.
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