Concerned Nasarawa APC Stakeholders Forum has urged the National Assembly and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to act quickly to reinstate the rule of law in Nasarawa State.
The group specifically expressed concern over the apparent disobedience of a court order prohibiting Hon. Ibrahim Balarabe from posing as the Speaker of the 7th parliament in an election that Rt. Hon. Daniel Ogah Ogazi won with a simple majority of votes.
The announcement was made during a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja by the convener of CNSAS, Alh Ibrahim Shuaibu.
The Concerned Nasarawa APC Stakeholders are concerned about the replacement of impunity and lawlessness in the political arena of the state, which is being sustained by people who believe they are invincible and their political interests above the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.
“The continuous disregard for due process and existing order of a Federal High Court prohibiting Hon. Ibrahim Balarabe from posing as the Speaker of the 7th assembly in an election where Rt. Hon. Daniel Ogah Ogazi was elected by a simple majority votes and inside the assembly complex is the height of impunity and lawlessness not expected to be tolerated by a Chief Executive of a state and any other elected public official, regardless of their interests.
“Governor Abdullahi A. Sule’s poorly thought out hospitality and recent reception of the Balarabe led party of some Assembly members at the Government House, Lafia, without resorting to the existing decision of a Federal High Court on the Assembly case is an aberration of his oath of office, wherein he vowed to protect the Constitution and maintain democracy in the State. He took this oath with the holy Qur’an. It is clear that the problem has gotten worse and that other state public officials have compromised their morals as a result of the governor’s involvement in the Assembly leadership.
“As a result, we firmly advise Justice Aisha Bashir to withdraw from the Assembly matter because we cannot trust her to render just judgement in this case. In order to ensure that justice is done, we thus request that the National Judicial Council shine its searchlights on the State Chief Judge and the other judges involved in this case.
“A lawmaker has suddenly positioned himself above the law; the very rules that he wants our citizens to uphold rigidly are being disregarded by the state’s ruling class. Rule makers are expected to follow their own rules. Therefore, we urge law enforcement to take immediate action to stop Balarabe and his colleagues from brazenly violating our laws.
Ladies and gentlemen, if the Assembly crisis is not resolved, our state is heading down a very dangerous path, with no regard for the law or the constitution.
“We urge His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to summon Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule to order before he plunges our beloved State into anarchy. A stitch in time saves nine.
Finally, we urge the National Assembly leadership to step in and assume control of the State Assembly until the issue has been resolved, as failure would force Nasarawa State’s population to take direct action to restore democracy.
