{"id":161355,"date":"2025-05-05T08:28:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T07:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/governors-lawal-alia-reject-reps-summons-question-legal-basis"},"modified":"2025-05-05T09:30:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T08:30:35","slug":"governors-lawal-alia-reject-reps-summons-question-legal-basis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/governors-lawal-alia-reject-reps-summons-question-legal-basis","title":{"rendered":"Governors Lawal, Alia reject Reps\u2019 summons, question legal basis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>Governors Dauda Lawal of Zamfara and Hyacinth Alia of Benue have rejected the invitation extended to them by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, raising serious questions about its legality and constitutional merit.<\/p>\n

The committee, in a statement issued on Friday by its Head of Media, Chooks Oko, summoned the governors and their respective state assemblies over alleged constitutional violations and governance failures.<\/p>\n

The lawmakers are seeking explanations over legislative crises and worsening security situations in both states.<\/p>\n

In Benue, the controversy revolves around the suspension of 13 lawmakers believed to be opposed to Governor Alia.<\/p>\n

The suspended members had criticised the governor\u2019s decision to suspend the state\u2019s Chief Judge, Justice Maurice Ikpambese \u2014 a move that sparked a political uproar and accusations of executive overreach.<\/p>\n

Zamfara, on the other hand, is grappling with a legislative standoff.<\/p>\n

A faction of nine lawmakers, previously suspended, continues to claim legitimacy and has gone ahead to call on Governor Lawal to present the 2025 budget to them. This development has created a parallel legislative structure in the state.<\/p>\n

Both states are also contending with deep-rooted security crises. Zamfara remains under siege by heavily armed bandits who engage in mass abductions, cattle rustling, and extortion, particularly in rural communities.<\/p>\n

Benue continues to witness deadly clashes between farmers and armed herders, threatening lives and food production.<\/p>\n

Top officials from both state governments have dismissed the summons, arguing that the National Assembly has no constitutional right to invite governors over state matters.<\/p>\n

Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Hyacinth Dajoh, downplayed the development, saying he was yet to receive any official invitation. \u201cIt\u2019s all a social media issue. Maybe the letter may reach my office on Monday, but as of now, I cannot respond to it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Zamfara State PDP Publicity Secretary, Halliru Andi, condemned the House committee\u2019s action, insisting that governors are accountable to their state assemblies and citizens \u2014 not the National Assembly. \u201cNo amount of intimidation from so-called politically twisted committees or courts can derail our leadership,\u201d Andi said<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the factional lawmakers in Zamfara claimed they had uncovered plots to harm them. \u201cWe are aware of plans to attack us and our families. We have a recording of the planned attack and have alerted security agencies in case anything happens to us,\u201d they revealed in a statement.<\/p>\n

The opposition parties in Benue, including the PDP and the APC faction led by Austin Agada, have expressed support for the National Assembly\u2019s intervention. However, political observers say the issue may spark a prolonged legal and constitutional tussle between federal lawmakers and the two state governments.<\/p>\n

As of press time, it remains unclear whether the hearing will proceed as scheduled or if the National Assembly will attempt to enforce its summons.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. Governors Dauda Lawal of Zamfara and Hyacinth Alia of Benue have rejected the invitation extended to them by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, raising serious questions about its legality and constitutional merit. The committee, in a statement issued on Friday by its Head of Media, Chooks Oko, summoned the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":161354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[12739,14594,254],"class_list":["post-161355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-gov-alia","tag-gov-lawal","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"\nGovernors Lawal, Alia reject Reps\u2019 summons, question legal basis - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Governors Dauda Lawal of Zamfara and Hyacinth Alia of Benue have rejected the invitation extended to them by the House o ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/governors-lawal-alia-reject-reps-summons-question-legal-basis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Governors Lawal, Alia reject Reps\u2019 summons, question legal basis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Governors Dauda Lawal of Zamfara and Hyacinth Alia of Benue have rejected the invitation extended to them by the House o ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/governors-lawal-alia-reject-reps-summons-question-legal-basis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-05T07:28:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-05T08:30:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1746421265.132172.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1068\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"712\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/governors-lawal-alia-reject-reps-summons-question-legal-basis#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/governors-lawal-alia-reject-reps-summons-question-legal-basis\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Governors Lawal, Alia reject Reps\u2019 summons, question legal basis\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-05T07:28:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-05T08:30:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/governors-lawal-alia-reject-reps-summons-question-legal-basis\"},\"wordCount\":484,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/governors-lawal-alia-reject-reps-summons-question-legal-basis#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1746421265.132172.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gov Alia\",\"Gov Lawal\",\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/governors-lawal-alia-reject-reps-summons-question-legal-basis#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/governors-lawal-alia-reject-reps-summons-question-legal-basis\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/governors-lawal-alia-reject-reps-summons-question-legal-basis\",\"name\":\"Governors Lawal, Alia reject Reps\u2019 summons, question legal basis - 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