Recall Suspended Members – APC Orders Kaduna Speaker

By Our Reporter

Kaduna State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) has directed the State House of Assembly Speaker Alhaji Yusuf Zalani to immediately recall all members of the State House of Assembly, he placed on suspension.

The party directed that the suspension of the members be lifted with immediate effect. Party sources confirmed that the directive has been conveyed to the Speaker, who is expected to act swiftly.

The decision might not be unconnected with the defeat of APC candidate in the Saturday bye- elections in Sabon-Gari constituency, which the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate won.

The party decision, which has an overwhelming support of major stakeholders, is evidence that the APC members believe the party lost the election when it failed to call the Speaker to order.

“The APC shot itself in the foot by allowing the Speaker, in the first place, to have declared the seat vacant without any justification.

“The supporters of the former Speaker can’t be blamed for having shunned the election,” said a party leader

“The consensus is that the Speaker, without doubt, brought the defeat upon the party. And take this from me, the APC didn’t lose because of any so-called anti-people policies of the Nasir El-Rufai administration,” another party member said.

In the run up to the 2019 general elections, PDP had vigorously campaigned on the so-called anti-people’s policies, especially the disengagement of 21,000 teachers who flunked the Teachers competency test and the restructuring of the traditional institution.

But Governor Nasir El-Rufai overwhelmingly won the re-election, which was widely interpreted as an endorsement of his policies by the poor, which also repudiated the PDP claims that the policies hurt them.

In what has been described as a “personality clash”, the House led by Zalani, had in 2020, suspended three members.

The suspended lawmakers were Nuhu Goroh Shadalafiya, the former deputy speaker, representing Kagarko constituency, Mukhttar Isa-Hazo and Yusuf Dahiru, representing Kakuri/Makera constituency for an initial period of nine months, for “allegedly causing disaffection among members and denigrating the office of the deputy speaker”.

The former Speaker Abdullahi Shagali was “seriously reprimanded”, for his alleged role in the crisis, before his seat was to be eventually declared vacant.

Though the official reason for declaring Shagali’s seat vacant, was his failure to meet the mandatory number of sittings, political watchers believe that Zalani wasn’t comfortable with the former Speaker.

In April this year, the House, to the surprise of party members, extended the initial suspension of the three members for another 12 months.

Another member, Salisu Isa(Magajin Gari constituency), was also added to the list of suspended members, as Zalani continued to wield the big stick on any members with doubtful loyalty

“The Speaker demands 100% unquestionable loyalty,” said a member, who was almost got suspended for speaking up against the rash of suspensions.

Source

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