A fresh constitutional tussle is brewing between the Benue State House of Assembly and the National Assembly following the refusal of Benue lawmakers to honour a summons from the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions.
The committee had summoned the Governors of Benue and Zamfara States — Hyacinth Alia and Dauda Lawal respectively — alongside the Speakers and leadership of their state Assemblies. The federal lawmakers demanded explanations over issues that could justify the House of Representatives taking over the constitutional duties of the affected state Assemblies.
However, the Benue Assembly dismissed the summons as “ignorant” and “unconstitutional,” citing a violation of Section 101 of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers state legislatures to regulate their own procedures independently.
At Tuesday’s plenary, the Benue Assembly passed a resolution urging Speaker Rt. Hon. Hyacinth Aondona Dajoh to disregard the invitation, asserting that the directive amounts to federal interference in state legislative autonomy.
Majority Leader Saater Tiseer described the move as an “ignorant overreach” and called for legal redress to challenge what he termed a clear encroachment by the National Assembly.
Backing this stance, Katsina-Ala West representative Bemdoo Ipusu urged that the group Guidance of Democracy, believed to have influenced the federal committee, be included in the legal action for allegedly misleading the panel with false claims — including naming Hon. Peter Uche as a suspended member of the Assembly.
Hon. Uche denounced the claim, stating, “I remain an active and serving member of this Assembly. The inclusion of my name is evidence of poor briefing and intentional mischief.”
Hon. Michael Audu added his voice, warning that honouring such a summons would set a “dangerous precedent” for Nigeria’s democratic federalism.
The Assembly has also extended an invitation to members of the Benue National Assembly Caucus for a consultative dialogue on the issue and called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Inspector General of Police to investigate the petitioners responsible for what it described as deliberate misinformation.
The lawmakers maintain that only legal intervention can prevent a potential breakdown in federal-state legislative relations.
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