₦airaland Forum

Police take over Niger House of Assembly

24 February 2015

A detachment of armed policemen yesterday morning took over the Niger State House of Assembly, after blocking the Paiko Expressway leading to the state Assembly. The development led to a traffic gridlock in the area.

Daily Trust gathered that at the weekend, there was rumour that a group loyal to the Deputy Governor, Ahmed Musa Ibeto, was planning a protest at the Assembly.

The relationship between the state’s deputy governor and the governor degenerated shortly after the former defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Last week, the governor, who was billed to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Lesser Hajj, directed the Speaker of the House of Assembly to act in his absence, shunning the deputy governor.

Other sources said the policemen were drafted to the area to prevent any attempt by two members of the Assembly Bashir Abdullahi Isa Lokogoma and Nazeer Abdullahi from gaining entrance.

The members representing Wushishi and Rijau Constituences respectively had their seats declared vacant by the Assembly because they defected from the PDP to APC.

But Clerk of the House of Assembly, Abdullahi Kagara, said there was no plan to impeach the deputy governor, as being speculated. On the deployment of policemen, he said he did not know why they were at the premises, but added that they could be acting on a security report.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ibrahim Gambari, said the deployment was based on intelligence report, adding that it was normal for security agencies to dispatch operatives to flash points.

“Police are just being proactive. When we envisage a problem, we do not need to waste time. We must act accordingly. Policemen were not only drafted to the House of Assembly, some were sent to coppers lodges,” he said.

temitemi1:
GEJ till 2019!!!

ozoigbondu:
Impeach the deputy governor and nothing will happen as long as it is backed and done according to the consitution though i believe that politics should not be party oriented and the deputy is hauntef due to his defection

Meanwhile GEJ till aliyu turns to a fine boy

alaoeri:
On what grounds will they impeach the debuty? Remember the same election brought him & the governor into power.

ozoigbondu:
If they truly want to impeach him all they need to do is dig out his past and you know no politican is a saint they will definitely find dirts to nail him with

alaoeri:
Did you think the house of assembly will find it easy like that of Adamawa? What you don't know is that Niger state house of assembly is divided, some are loyal to the governor while some his deputy that's why there is presence of security men at the state assembly to stop legislators who will go against the governor's order.

ozoigbondu:
If they want it to happen it will hapoen with enough evidence by the way the house is not divided just two disgruntled man that joined aggrieved peoples congress

alaoeri:
You talking about enough evidence, did you have any? & you think the deputy won't have done his homework before crossing or you think everybody is Nyako?

alaoeri:
On what grounds will they impeach the debuty? Remember the same election brought him & the governor into power.