In a bold and defiant move, the Benue State House of Assembly has passed a resolution urging its Speaker, Rt. Hon. Hyacinth Aondona Dajoh, to disregard a summons issued by the National Assembly Public Petition Committee—a summons the House says is unconstitutional and politically motivated.
The resolution, passed during plenary, insists that the summons flagrantly contravenes the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), particularly Section 101, which grants state assemblies the power to regulate their own affairs without external interference.
The Assembly didn’t stop at rejection—it is also gearing up for a legal showdown with the National Assembly. It plans to sue the federal legislature and has called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Inspector General of Police to investigate the originators of the petition that triggered the summons.
Majority Leader Comr. Saater Tiseer described the National Assembly’s move as a display of "ignorance", asserting that the federal lawmakers have no constitutional right to meddle in the internal workings of a state legislature.
Backing the call for legal redress, Hon. Bemdoo Ipusu (Katsina-Ala West) demanded that the group known as Guidance of Democracy, which allegedly influenced the petition, be added as a party in the planned legal action for misleading the National Assembly.
Ipusu also exposed an error in the petition which included the name of Hon. Peter Uche, who was not among those suspended—further proving the petition was based on misinformation.
Hon. Uche himself condemned the action, affirming that he is still an active member of the House and was wrongly listed, insisting that the Assembly remains “vibrant, united, and constitutionally grounded.”
Other lawmakers, including Hon. Micheal Audu and Hon. Peter Uche, expressed outrage and called on the Speaker and leadership to completely ignore the summons.
They warned against any attempts by the National Assembly to "usurp the role" of a state arm of government that is fully operational and constitutionally autonomous.
The House also called on the Benue State National Assembly Caucus (Senators and Reps) to meet with the Assembly leadership to clarify why the State’s image is being “maliciously dragged” at the federal level.
The Speaker’s Chief Press Secretary, Terver Zamber, confirmed the developments in a statement issued Tuesday, May 6, 2025.
As tensions build, all eyes are on the legal fireworks that may soon erupt between the federal and state legislatures.