Niger Assembly Suspends Plenary Amid Dispute With Executive Arm

The Niger State House of Assembly has suspended its plenary indefinitely following growing concerns among lawmakers over what they described as unresolved issues between the legislature and the executive arm of government.

The development comes shortly after the conclusion of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries, where only 12 of the 26 APC lawmakers in the Assembly reportedly secured tickets through the party’s consensus arrangement. The Deputy Speaker, Afiniki Dauda, was also among those who failed to secure the party’s nomination.

The decision was reached during Tuesday’s plenary after the member representing Chanchaga Constituency, Abubakar-Kabir Ustaz, raised a motion calling for the suspension of legislative activities until all outstanding issues with the executive arm are resolved.

According to Ustaz, lawmakers would be judged harshly if they continued to overlook pending matters affecting the relationship between both arms of government.

He argued that allowing unresolved issues to persist sends the wrong message to future legislators and undermines the standards established by previous assemblies.

Although he was not permitted to publicly disclose the specific issues on the floor of the House, members agreed that the matters would be discussed during an executive session. The motion was seconded by Abdulrahman Gambo, the lawmaker representing Borgu Constituency.

Not all members supported the proposal. Jibrin Baba, who represents Lavun Constituency, opposed the motion, maintaining that there was no justification for suspending legislative activities since the Assembly had already reconvened to carry out its responsibilities.

The differing opinions soon led to a heated debate, with lawmakers exchanging arguments over whether the House should continue sitting or halt proceedings.

As tensions rose, Speaker Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji intervened, urging members to remain calm and handle the matter with maturity while respecting one another’s views.

Following extensive deliberations, the Speaker directed that the motion be subjected to a vote.

At the end of the voting process, lawmakers in favour of suspending plenary emerged as the majority, leading to the approval of the motion.

The Assembly subsequently resolved to suspend its sitting and proceed into an executive session, where members are expected to deliberate on the unresolved issues and determine a position to be communicated to the executive arm of government.