Niger Assembly Halts Plenary Over Issues With Executives

The Niger State House of Assembly on Tuesday suspended plenary indefinitely over what lawmakers described as “unresolved issues” with the executive arm of the state government.

Naija News understands that the decision followed a motion moved by the member representing Chanchaga Constituency, Mohammed Abubakar-Kabir, popularly known as Ustaz, who urged the House to halt legislative proceedings until the pending issues with the executive were addressed.

Moving the motion during plenary, Abubakar-Kabir said the House could no longer continue with normal proceedings while unresolved matters between the legislature and the executive remained unattended to.

Although he did not disclose the specific issues, the lawmaker warned that history would not be kind to the lawmakers if they allowed matters affecting the independence of the House to be ignored.

He said the current Assembly had a responsibility to defend the autonomy and integrity of the legislative arm.

According to him, posterity would judge members if they continued to allow pending issues with the executive to be swept under the carpet.

The motion was seconded by the member representing Borgu Constituency, Abdulrahman Gambo.

However, the member representing Lavun Constituency, Jibrin Ndagi-Baba, opposed the move and raised a counter-motion.

Ndagi-Baba argued that there was no need for the House to suspend the day’s legislative business because of issues with the executive arm.

His position sparked a heated debate between lawmakers who supported the suspension and those who opposed it.

The disagreement almost degenerated into a rowdy session as the majority of members insisted that plenary should be suspended until the concerns raised were resolved.

Following the heated arguments, the Speaker, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, intervened and appealed to members to remain calm.

Sarkindaji urged lawmakers to respect one another’s views and allow the House to take a decision through the proper legislative process.

He thereafter directed that the motion be put to a vote.

After the vote, members in support of suspending plenary carried the day.

Consequently, the House suspended plenary indefinitely and retired into an executive session to discuss the alleged “unresolved issues” with the executive arm.

The suspension is expected to remain in force until the issues between the legislature and the executive are addressed.