The invitation of Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State; his counterpart in Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, and the leaderships of the two state houses of assembly by the House of Representatives is considered by many as being against the spirit of Nigeria’s federal system of government, Ejiofor Alike writes
Many analysts believe that the House of Representatives recently overreached itself when it summoned Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State; his counterpart in Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, and the leaderships of the two state houses of assembly to appear before it on Thursday, May 8.
The curious summon was said to have been prompted by a petition brought before the House on March 27, 2025, by the legal representative of the civil society group, Guardians of Rule of Law and Democracy, Mr Ihensekhien Samuel, alleging illegal suspension of lawmakers in both states.
Zamfara and Benue states have become epicentres of persistent insecurity, in recent years due to unrelenting attacks by bandits and violent herdsmen.
The two state houses of assemblies have also been embroiled in protracted crises.
Crisis had hit the 32-member Benue State House of Assembly over the controversial suspension of 13 lawmakers for three months for allegedly opposing the removal of the state Chief Judge, Justice Maurice Ikpambese, by the governor.
In Zamfara State, the crisis in the 24-member state House of Assembly led to the emergence of a parallel nine-member minority faction, led by Hon. Bashar Aliyu Gummi, whose members were suspended by the Hon. Bilyaminu Moriki-led majority faction.
Though the majority factions in the two assemblies are duly constituted to carry out their legislative functions, there were what seemed like politically-motivated calls for the National Assembly to take over the two assemblies.
The House of Representatives’ Committee on Public Petitions summoned the executive and legislative arms of the two states to appear before it to explain why their constitutional functions should not be taken over.
According to a statement issued by the Head of Media, House Committee on Public Petitions, Chooks Oko, the summon, personally signed by the Committee Chairman, Mike Etaba, “is sequel to a petition written by a civil rights organisation, Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law urging the House to take over the functions of the two Houses of Assembly.”
Following the failure of the two governors to appear before the House Committee last Thursday, the committee rescheduled its meeting to May 14.
But analysts who are opposed to the summon insisted that under the country’s federal structure, the National Assembly can only summon the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the heads of the various security agencies to discuss issues concerning insecurity.
The Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, through its chairman, Adebo Ogundoyin, described the summon as an “overreach of constitutional powers” and a “direct challenge” to Nigeria’s federal structure and the autonomy of state legislatures.
According to him, the investigative and oversight powers of the National Assembly under sections 88 and 89 of the constitution are “limited to federal matters”.
Speaking on the issue, a former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Garki Branch, Abuja, Obioma Ezenwobodo, stated that the federal lawmakers have no legal authority to summon the governors, insisting that the actions of the governors can only be reviewed or supervised by their state Houses of Assembly.
“As a matter of fact, by virtue of Section 11(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) the National Assembly’s power to make laws for a state is envisaged when the State House of Assembly cannot perform its functions by reason of the situation prevailing in that state.
“By Section 11(5), it was made clear that a State House of Assembly shall not be deemed to be unable to perform its functions so long as it can hold a meeting and transact businesses
“Deducting from this provision and marrying it with Section 96 that provides for a quorum of one-third majority for a State House of Assembly to transact business, would it be safe to conclude that the Houses of Assembly in both Benue and Zamfara states cannot muster one-third majority to transact the businesses of the houses?” he queried.
Similarly, a former governorship candidate in Zamfara State, Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, also told members of the House of Representatives that they lack the constitutional authority to summon a democratically elected governor of a state.
Writing on behalf of the Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development (PAPSD), the former National Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), stated that Nigeria is a federation with the duties, functions and responsibilities of the three tiers of government clearly spelt out in the constitution.
Shinkafi argued that the National Assembly’s power to summon citizens under its investigative authority in Sections 88 and 89, is limited to matters concerning federal laws, appropriations, and oversight of federal agencies.
According to him, the power of the National Assembly is not unlimited power to summon everyone, adding that summoning a governor for clearly state matters exceeds the National Assembly’s authority as Nigeria is a federation, where states have autonomy under Section 4(6) and (7).
He said nothing in Section 11(4) “shall be construed as conferring on the National Assembly power to remove the Governor or the Deputy Governor of the State from office.”
However, the opposition PDP, through the Benue State Publicity Secretary, Tim Nyior, welcomed the summons, describing the suspension of the 13 state lawmakers as “legislative rascality” that had deprived nearly two million people in Benue State of their legitimate representation.
Also, the Austin Agada-led State Working Committee (SWC) of the APC loyal to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, welcomed the summons.
While welcoming the summons, the state Publicity Secretary of the APC, Daniel Ihomun, said the suspension of the 13 lawmakers had driven the state gradually to anarchy.
But the governor’s APC faction, through the state Publicity Secretary of the APC caretaker committee, James Orgunga, said the situation in the state did not warrant the National Assembly to take over the state assembly.
In Zamfara, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Lawal on Media and Communications, Mustafa Kaura, said the National Assembly lacks the constitutional right to invite a serving governor to appear before it.
Also, the state PDP spokesperson, Halliru Andi, stated that the invitation seemed to be politically motivated rather than a legitimate constitutional step.
He argued that all the blame directed at Governor Lawal on the issue of insecurity in the state was politically motivated and sponsored by members of the immediate-past administration.
“How does one expect the PDP government in the state to end banditry within two years – something that APC governments at the state and federal levels couldn’t end in 12 years?” Andi queried.
Indeed, the summon of Governors Lawal and Alia is considered by many as being politically-motivated.
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