Conference of Speakers leadership led by its Chairman, Abubakar Suleiman, at the meeting with NGF Chairman, Gov Kayode Fayemi, in Abuja.
NGF mandates Niger State Governor to mediate in Plateau Assembly impasse
The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) says it has resolved to intervene in the Plateau State House of Assembly imbroglio in order to find an amicable solution and end the impasse.
NGF Chairman and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, disclosed this in Abuja while receiving the Chairman of the Conference of Speakers and Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abubakar Suleiman, who led a delegation of the leadership of the Speakers Conference to a crucial meeting with Fayemi aimed at unlocking the logjam.
Gov Fayemi said that the NGF had already mandated the Chairman of the North Central Governors Forum, and Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, to travel to Jos and meet with Gov Lalong and the two feuding PLHA parties with the view to quickly resolving the dispute and ending the impasse.
The Governor commended the Conference of Speakers for their commitment to finding an amicable solution to the crisis that has rocked the Plateau Assembly and assured that the Forum was already closely monitoring the situation.
Earlier, the leadership of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, urged the NGF to mediate in the prevailing leadership tussle that has rocked the Plateau State House of Assembly following the purported impeachment of Speaker Ayuba Abok by eight members out of the 24-member Assembly.
The delegation, which included Ogun, Ebonyi and Ekiti Assembly Speakers, held the meeting with the governor at the Nigerian Governors Forum Secretariat in Abuja.
Suleiman expressed deep concern over the Plateau State House of Assembly fracas in which two factions have emerged with two different Speakers, culminating in the siege of the Assembly by security operatives and the sacking of the Commissioner of Police, Edward Egbuka.
He stressed that there was an urgent need for the quick intervention of the Nigerian Governors Forum in order to restore sanity and orderliness, as well as prevent the escalation of the crisis.
According to the Conference of Speakers leader, all parties involved in the crisis should sheath their swords, respect the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the extant rules and procedures of the Plateau State House of Assembly.
Suleiman reiterated the sanctity of the legislative arm and the setback which the crisis would bring to governance in Plateau State.
The Conference of Speakers leadership also expressed confidence that the Governors Forum and Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, who is also a lawyer and former Speaker of the Assembly, will quickly intervene with a view to ensuring that normalcy returns to the factionalized Assembly.
