Drama as Niger Assembly steps down screening of ex-deputy speaker as commissioner-nominee

From John Adams Minna

There was drama at the Niger State House of Assembly yesterday during the ongoing screening of commissioner-nominees when the nomination of a commissioner-designate was stepped down.

The commissioner-nominee was a former deputy speaker and four-time member of the House of Assembly from Agwara Local Government Area of the state, Bello Agwara.

Trouble started for the commissioner-nominee shortly after reading out his credentials when the chief whip and member representing Chanchaga Constituency, Mohammed Abubakar, stood up to move the motion that his nomination be stepped down for what he described as his “many sins” against the same Assembly he served for four terms.

He was accused of using his privileged position as a former member to obtain sensitive documents from the House to sue the Assembly to court and obtained judgement against the same institution he had served for 16 years without exhausting internal mechanisms.

The behaviour, the members said, was contrary to his oath of office and therefore, it will be a disservice for the house to screen him as commissioner.

The members said he cannot be trusted with public office as sensitive as the office of the commissioner due to his antecedent having betrayed his oath of office while in office as the deputy speaker of the house.

He was also accused of not being a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the time of his nomination as commissioner because he had no proper record of defection from the main opposition party, the People Democratic party (PDP) both at his ward  and the state APC.

The members called for outright rejection of his nomination as commissioner but the Speaker intervened and pleaded with the house that the matter be referred to the executive session for further deliberation.

After heated arguments with the majority standing firm against his nomination, the speaker, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, stepped down his screening and referred the matter to the executive session.

The embattled commissioner-nominee later met the members in the Speaker’s chamber for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, nine of the 30 commissioner-nominees were screened and cleared while the screening continues today.