APC, Legislative Face Off in Niger Deepens

BY MAIRIGA Juliana, Minna
The legislative arm of government in Niger state is set for a show down over plans by the leadership of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state to remove key members of the State House of Assembly (NSHA).
Facts to the impending face-off emerged Tuesday when the State House of Assembly took delivery of a letter read during plenary in which the state APC chairman is demanding for major adjustments in the 27 member House composition.
The letter requesting for the removal of one of the principal officers, which was signed by the state party Chairman, Engineer Mohammed Jibril Imam was read to the 27 lawmakers, 25 of them elected under the platform of the APC.
The latest development being part of the cold war between the party leadership in the state and the legislature climaxed with the party requesting for the removal of the House Majority Leader, Alhaji Nura Garba.
In place of Nura Garba, the party wants the House to appoint, Alhaji Isah Dandodo Ibrahim as the House Majority Leadership, a development our correspondent gathered is being viewed by many of the legislators as a, ‘clear interference in legislative businesses by the APC’.
All the 27 member legislature were present during the session and did not hide their displeasure of the request by their party leadership in the state for such a major change, describing it as, ‘undue interferences’ in legislative matters of the House.
The legislators in throwing out the letter by the state APC chairman cited some sections of the House’s standing rules which prescribed among others that, ‘Principal Officers of the Assembly should be elected by the legislators themselves’.
Executive members of the party led by the state Secretary, Alhaji Mohammed Liman who was present at the House of Assembly during the session were visibly disappointed by the legislature’s decision and had to leave immediately with long faces.
The APC state Secretary who also declined to speak to journalists as he made his way out of the Assembly complex, after walking out of the chamber simply said, ‘Go and ask them anything you want to hear’.
Meanwhile, Governor Abubarkar Sani Bello had also in a memo to the State Assembly on Tuesday dropped one of the four remaining commissioner nominees, Mr. John Sabo Koce and replaced him with, Mr. Duza Emmanuel Babur.
Our correspondent could not immediately ascertain the reason (s) for the decision but the Governor’s re-presented list to the Assembly contained the names of Alhaji Danjuma Salau from Munya, Mallam Isah Kanko, representing Wushishi and Alhaji Kabiru Abbas Musa for Mariga Council Areas respectively to the Assembly for considerations.