Plateau Assembly reconvenes plenary after a two-month closure

On April 4, security personnel evacuated the Assembly premises due to a power struggle in the legislature.

Abok Ayuba, the Speaker of the House, presided over the Tuesday plenary. He was elected speaker by his peers in June 2019 but was later impeached by the legislature on October 28, 2021.

However, he disputed his impeachment, which he claimed was unlawful.

On April 3, Plateau High Court Justice Nefisa Musa reinstated him. Yakubu Sanda, Ayuba’s successor, later appealed the court’s decision and proclaimed himself the legitimate Assembly speaker. Security personnel were compelled to close the Assembly complex due to the crisis in order to prevent the loss of law and order.

Ayuba lamented the time lost due to the unnecessary shutdown of the parliament but thanked God that they had finally started legislative business during Tuesday’s plenary. Bala Fwenji, a member from Mangu South State Constituency, moved a resolution for a subject of urgent public significance during the plenary as well.

In his speech, Fwenji bemoaned the 180 murders and 30,000 evictions committed in the constituency by criminals. The senators demanded that the federal and Plateau governments launch investigations and prosecute those responsible for the state’s ongoing attacks. In order to make Operation Rainbow, the state security agency, more successful in addressing the issues, they called for a reform of the law establishing it.