ASSEMBLY BOYCOTTS PERM SECS' SWEARING-IN

The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has boycotted the swearing-in ceremony of the 25 permanent secretaries appointed by Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura on Tuesday.

The swearing-in ceremony which took place at the city hall, along Shendam Road, Lafia was witnessed by friends and relations of the appointees as well as chairman and members of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Grand Khadi of the state and superior court judges.

Others who attended the ceremony included the state traditional rulers led by its chairman, Alhaji (Dr.) Ifa Mustapha Agwan I.

But the speaker of the house, Musa Ahmed Muhammad, principal officers and members of the state house of Assembly were conspicuously absence at the occasion. Although no reason was given for the absence, but Daily Sun reliably gathered that, their absence would not be unconnected with the recent conflict between the Assembly and the Governor on his recent appointments of management committee chairmen and the members, without recourse to the law of the house.

The state Assembly who freezed the Development Area banks had also gone to court to challenge the appointments made by Governor Umar Tanko Al-makura.

Just last month, when Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Hamza Elayo Muhammad was invited to the house to explain the reasons behind the action of the Governor on the letter written to them by the Governor, some political thugs suspected to be CPC supporters came along with him to the Assembly and destroyed the windows of the house, they even threatened to beat members of the houses, the action which the state government had since apologized to the house.

It could be recalled that, the state Assembly has 24 members out of, which 20 are PDP members while the ruling CPC has only 4 members. Even the PDP members of the house could not attend the ceremony. Press secretary to the speaker, Ibrahim Tanko could not be reached on phone, when Daily Sun called his lines for comments on the matter. In another development, the lawmakers also yesterday shunned the dinner organized by the governor so as to express their grievances against the appointment of members of Development Area Management Committees without their consent.

The dinner which was billed to hold at the presidential lodge, along Shendam road, Lafia as parts of effort to reconcile the house and the Governor on the recent development in the state also received serious set-back due to what a house member who don't want his name in print described as, 'disrespect on the part of governor' to the house.

The house, which has 24 members with PDP having 20 members while the ruling CPC in the state had only four. Even the four CPC members always supported the PDP members in terms of collective decisions taken by the house. Our correspondent who was at the venue of reports that Al-Makura was set to attend the dinner when a senior legistive aide told him that the house members would not attend.

An elder statesman who do not want his name in print told Daily Sun in a chat that the recent happenings between the governor and the teleguided members of the State Assembly is not good for democracy and unless it is addressed, if not, there would be no meaningful development.