Bauchi State House of Assembly has withdrawn its earlier confirmation of Commissioner of Education, Dr. Aliyu Tilde, citing alleged disrespect of lawmakers during budget defence.

The House had on Friday ordered Tilde out of the defence hearing for keeping it waiting for one hour after the scheduled 10:00 a.m. appointment.

Chairman of the House Committee on Education and member representing Hardawa Constituency, Babayo Muhammad, said: “We told him we are members of the legislature and another arm of government. He still kept asking who we are. Therefore, we asked him to go. When he realises that we are somebody, he should come back for the defence. We have only eight days, from today, to end the budget defence proceedings.”

The House deliberated on the conduct of the commissioner and concluded it had been insulted. It also noted that it has the constitutional power to confirm and or withdraw confirmation of any government appointee.

It unanimously passed a vote of no confidence on the commissioner and directed the Permanent Secretary of the ministry to continue with the defence. Thereafter, the House withdrew its August 17, 2021 confirmation of Tilde as commissioner.

The Speaker, Abubakar Suleiman, who presided over the plenary, maintained that the House has power to withdraw confirmations. Majority Leader, Tijjani Muhammad Aliyu, also defended this position.

The education commissioner who survived the last cabinet reshuffle by the state governor as he made it in the list of the newly appointed commissioners took people by surprise. He was said to be among the powerful men in the governor's cabinet that call the shots in the state, even though not many people likes his method of running the education sector in the state.

Meanwhile, when contacted, the Adviser on Assembly Liaison Matters to Governor Bala Mohammad, Sani Burra, said the house has done its part and it is the prerogative of the governor to accept their decisions.

Asked to react, Tilde told Newsmen in a text message: “I am ahead of them. No comment until tomorrow, after 10:00 a.m.”

In the N195.355bn 2022 budget proposal submitted to the Assembly by Governor Bala Mohammed, the education sector got the second highest allocation of N29.931bn representing 15.3 percent.

Though the governor's reaction on the issue is being awaited, it's very important to know if the state assembly truly has that power to remove a state governor's appointee for whatsoever reason. Your submissions are welcome.