The Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Hon. Hyacinth Dajoh, has commended the House of Representatives for setting aside the erroneous summons extended to the Governors and Speakers of Benue and Zamfara States.
In a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday through his Senior Special Assistant on New Media, Bem Agile, Hon. Dajoh noted that the decision is contained in a letter from the office of the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen. The letter expresses regret over the actions of the former House Committee Chairman and describes them as an abuse of office.
According to the statement, Rt. Hon. Tanjudeen said, the NASS has much respect for the autonomy of state legislatures and would do everything possible to ensure a harmonious working relationship between the two law-making bodies.
Chief Dajoh further called on the people of Benue State to remain law-abiding, emphasizing that the government has respect for the rule of law.
It would be recalled that the Benue State House of Assembly had resolved to sue the Federal House of Representatives Committee on Public Petition for issuing a summons to its Speaker and leadership.
The House had described the summons as contravening the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended and called on the Speaker to disregard it.
In a correspondence read on the floor of the House, the Majority Leader, Hon. Saater Tiseer, stated that the notice sent by the National Assembly showed a higher degree of legislative ignorance, citing Section 101 of the Constitution, which gives State Houses of Assembly the power to legislate on their business without external control.
Other members of the House, including the Majority Chief Whip, Hon. Peter Ipusu, Minority Leader, Hon. Michael Audu, and others, condemned the National Assembly’s actions and supported the decision to take legal action.
