Crises may be brewing once again in the House of Representatives as 11 lawmakers, all members of the ‘loyalists’ group, have dragged the Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, before an Abuja High Court, challenging his powers to suspend members, as granted by the new standing orders of the House.
Joined in the suit is the Clerk of the House, Mr. Mohammed Sani-Omolori, by the plaintiffs, who are all members of the Speaker’s party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The loyalists were backers of the Majority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, while the tussle for the composition of the House leadership lasted.
The lawmakers queried the power of the Speaker to suspend any member who approaches the mace for any intent, and to suspend for 30 days, any member who fails to obey the directive of the presiding officer.
The powers were vested by the Standing Order of the House, which was adopted on October 8, 2015, after an ad-hoc committee reviewed the 2011 document.
The lawmakers are Hon. Aliyu Sani Madaki (Kano), Hon. Mohammed Musa Soba (Kaduna), Hon. Yusuf Bala Ikara (Kaduna), Hon. Abubakar Lado Suleja (Niger), Hon. Lawal Yahaya Gumau (Bauchi), Hon. Rotimi Agunsoye (Lagos), Hon. Aminu Ibrahim Malle (Taraba), Hon. Sunday Adepoju (Oyo), Hon. Ahmed Babba Kaita (Katsina), Hon. Philip Shuaibu (Edo) and Hon. Abubakar Chika Adamu (Niger).
The lawmakers, through their lawyer, Mr. Ahmed Bello Mahmud, in the suit filed on December 14, 2015, want the court to declare the reviewed Standing Orders of the House as null, void and unconstitutional.
They urged the court to restrain the Speaker, the House or any of its agents from exercising “the purported amendments” vested on them in the new rules pending the determination of the suit.
They also urged the court to declare the powers granted to the Speaker as “repressive, susceptible to abuse and breaches” of their constitutional rights.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas, when contacted, said he was unaware of the suit.
“I have not heard of it, but if the issue is already in court, then we will allow the court to determine the matter. We cannot comment on it if it is in court,” Namdas said.
