Strm gathers in Katsina over suspension of minority leader Katsina State House of Assembly had on June 3 suspended its minority leader, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim Mahuta, for accusing the House and the state executive of poor performance in budget implementation. The suspension of the minority leader of the Katsina State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Ibrahim Mahuta, for accusing the House and the executive arm of government in the state for poor performance is gradually heating the polity in Katsina as the opposition Congress for progressive Change (CPC) and the leadership of the House have started trading recriminations over the matter while the executive arm of government has not been spared. Mahuta, who represents Malumfashi state constituency in the House was quoted as saying that the average performance of the Katsina State Government on budget implementation stands at about 36 percent for 2011 and 37 percent for 2012. He also accused the Assembly of not performing its function saying if it had been up and doing the performance level would have been higher. Shortly after the publication, the lawmakers who were on recess cut-off their holiday and resumed for a special sitting over the matter. The House sat on June 3, 20113 and suspended Mahuta from his position as minority leader to pave the way for the House committee on ethics and privileges to investigate the matter. The decision did not go down well with CPC in the state and the interim chairman of the party, Alhaji Farouq Adamu Aliyu, faulted the decision, saying proper procedures were not followed by the lawmakers before suspending Mahuta. Aliyu described the suspension as illegal and unconstitutional, saying “there is no way you can move a motion, refer the matter to the ethics and privileges committee and at the same time arrive at a conclusion to suspend an accused member without giving him a chance to defend himself before the committee.” He said the suspension of the lawmaker has indicated that the House lacks capacity to perform its duty professionally. But Speaker of the House, Alhaji Ya’u Umar Gwajo-Gwajo, defended the procedure adopted by the House to suspend the lawmaker saying, “every House has its own rules and traditions.” He said Mahuta was suspended in order to give the committee a chance to investigate him thoroughly. “There is no way you can investigate him while holding his position because there is every tendency of tampering with the investigation through the influence of his position. So the lawmakers unanimously agreed that he should be suspended and we suspended him pending the completion of the investigation.” The Speaker said if Mahuta is found to be innocent, he will regain his position but if found guilty, the House will look at the recommendations of the committee and decide on the type of punishment that should be applied on the lawmaker. Gwajo-Gwajo explained that the lawmaker has jumped into conclusion by rating the performance of the House and the executives before the expiration of the first quota of the year, adding that “budget is something which is planned to achieve but if the anticipated revenue collections were not realized, you cannot achieve it. Mover of the motion for Mahuta’s suspension, Alhaji Ali Iliyasu Abubakar (PDP Batsari) said the accusation raised by Mahuta has undermined the authority of the House and that of the executive arm of the government hence deserves to be punished. Abubakar said contrary to the impression created by the Minority Leader, the House has passed a number of resolutions and signed a number of bills into law, adding that the statement by Mahuta has the tendency of straining the relationship between the two arms of government. Also contributing, Alhaji Lawal Isyaku, member representing Dandume state constituency said the House has exhausted its patience and will not take it lightly with any member that accuses it or the executive arm unfairly. The CPC is however insisting that the suspension is wrong and that the Assembly and the executive should instead move to prove the suspended minority leader wrong by publicizing the amount it released to the affected institutions in last year’s budget instead of taking punitive measures against the minority leader. The party’s interim chairman said the suspension was aimed at diverting the attention of the public from the real issues raised and urged the House to withdraw the suspension and issue an apology to the lawmaker as according to him, the suspension was illegal and unconstitutional and CPC will not accept it. He alleged that PDP has been muzzling opposition politicians in the state, citing as example the case of former Secretary to the Katsina state Government, Alhaji Mustaapha Muhammad Inuwa, whom he alleged has been victimized by the Katsina State government. The minority leader on his part said he has accepted the decision of the House in good faith, saying “I am happy the matter has been referred to ethics and privileges committee and I am sure the committee will do justice to the matter as its members are gentlemen.” He did not deny making the allegations but explained that “All I said in the interview was that some budgetary allocations were not released to the owners. I gave an example that not a single kobo was released to Science and Technical Education board out of the N400 million budgeted in 2012. “ He said those not comfortable with his statement are free to come with their figures and dispute the allegation before the committee. Chairman, House committee on ethics and privileges Alhaji Abdullahi Shu’aibu Tandama who spoke with newsmen shortly after the announcement of Mahuta’s suspension assured that the committee will do justice to the matter. Elders in Malumfashi have also joined the fray expressing their support for Mahuta and urged the State House of Assembly to reverse the suspension with immediate effect. Malam Usman Umar, the public relation officer of Jama’atul Izalatul Bid’a Wa ikamatul Sunnah (JIBWIS) Malumfashi branch, said Mahuta has been steadfast in protecting the interest of his people and therefore should not be victimized. Umar said Mahuta maintained monthly contributions to orphans and other less privileged families along with daily assistance to sick persons across the area, adding that the present ciris has unsettles many in the constituency. A representative of Munazzamtul Fityanul Islam and the Da’awah committee member in Malumfashi, Malam Kassimu Yusuf called on legislators to look into the issue in the interest of the people irrespective of political differences and follow due process in the issue. The chairman of CPC Malumfashi ward `B` and the party’s acting local government chairman, Malam Aminu Muntari, said Mahuta spoke on behalf of his people and expressed support for all his actions saying the lawmaker has demonstrated competence in his representation. Another resident, who is a member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Malam Mansur Cikaruga, criticized the legislators over the incident and urged them to consider Malumfashi people and reverse the suspension. It is not clear if such pleas would affect the investigation of the ethics committee.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 06:58:12 +0000
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