Tag: Benue Assembly

 The Benue All Progressive Congress (APC) Elders’ Forum said the State House of Assembly acted within the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) in removing the State Chief Judge.

The forum’s chairman, Sen. Barnabas Gemade, made the disclosure on Saturday during a press conference in Makurdi.

Gemade said that the party elders unanimously support the assembly’s decision.

The chairman told newsmen that the forum reviewed all that transpired in the assembly, engaged the leadership of the assembly and discovered that they acted within the law.

He said two-third of the lawmakers voted for the removal of the chief judge as required by the constitution.

“It is clear that the Benue State House of Assembly acted within the constitutional framework outlined in Section 292(1)(a)(ii) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

“We stand in solidarity with the assembly on this decision, especially given the serious allegations that necessitated such action, including mismanagement of the sum of N666.9 million in less than one year.

“Abuse of office by acting outside the scope of his work as the chief judge, as evidenced in granting a waiver of Section 76 of the Benue State Electoral Law.

“The electoral law was duly passed by the Benue State House of Assembly and assented to by the Executive Governor of Benue, amongst other grievous misconduct,”he said.

Gemade further commended the State Assembly for promptly sanctioning their erring members who attempted to ridicule what they did collectively during the preliminary.

On allegations that the assembly sanctioned the chief judge even before directing the governor to write to the National Judicial Council for investigation, Gemade said he was only removed as a chief judge and not as a judicial officer.

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He said the constitutional provisions for removing a chief judge and judicial officer were not the same.

The group further passed a resounding vote of confidence on Gov. Hyacinth Alia and President Bola Tinubu and pledged to support their second term bid in 2027.

“We call upon our Gov. Alia to remain steadfast and focused on his vision for development, urging all detractors to refrain from ill-motivated interference that could hinder our collective progress.

“On the same pedestal, we passed a resounding vote of confidence in President Tinubu for maintaining faith with the Renewed Hope Agenda.

“As we massively voted for Alia and Tinubu in the 2023 general elections, Benue is prepared to repeat history come 2027,” he said.

On the call by Senate Minority Leader Sen. Abba Moro (PDP/Benue West) that the National Assembly should take over the Benue House of Assembly, the group said that the senator’s call was not supported by the country’s constitution.

He said Moro’s motion was not only misguided but also demonstrated his lack of understanding of the constitutional process.

“Section 11(4), which mandates the National Assembly to take over the functions of the state assembly, can only be activated when the state assembly is unable to perform its functions by reason of a situation prevailing in the state.

“Section 11(5) explicitly defines the inability of the house to perform its functions as when the house is unable to hold a meeting and transact its business.

The Benue State House of Assembly has one leadership, enjoys full quorum at all sittings and has continuously been performing its functions.

“As elders, we urge Sen. Moro to focus on providing quality representation to his constituents rather than his desperate attempt to destabilise a performing APC administration in his home state,” he said.

Gemade further called on all stakeholders in Benue State to prioritise unity and cooperation and the opposition to engage constructively rather than seeking to undermine the progress.

(NAN)

The Benue State House of Assembly has lifted the suspension placed on the recruitment exercise of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) for the overall interest of the applicants.

The suspension was lifted after the Ad-Hoc Committee Investigating Controversies Surrounding Recruitment of Primary School Teachers by the board concluded its assignment.

Chairman of the committee, Mr Cephas Dyako (LP/Konshisha), stated that a law to provide for the compulsory free universal basic education and for purposes connected therewith in 2018, section 7, 1 (b).

He said that the law allowed the board to recruit, appoint, promote, and discipline teaching and non-teaching staff on grade levels 07 and above.

He said that a total number of 74,574 candidates applied for the recruitment, while a total number of 48,895 candidates sat for the Computer-Based Test (CBT), and a total number of 7,224 candidates were shortlisted for the oral interview.

He said that the allocation of cutoff marks to each local government area was on the basis of performance, which was to avoid overdominance of some highly performed local governments over others in the recruitment exercise.

He further said that based on the needs assessment carried out by the board, no local government got less than 200 candidates shortlisted for the oral interview so far except Makurdi and Ohimini local governments, who got 144 and 126, respectively.

He added that a total of 2,476 were yet to be shortlisted due to the suspension of the recruitment exercise.

He disclosed that candidates were not originally shortlisted on the basis of their local government of origin, therefore, not reflecting the state character.

Mr Blessed Onah (PDP/Oju I) said that as a result of the investigation carried out by the committee, there would be equity in the recruitment exercise.

The Speaker, Mr Hyacinth Dajo, said that the board should reassess the recruitment process and ensure compliance with extant laws based on fairness, equity, and justice to reflect state character.

Read Also: Benue Assembly, SUBEB clash over alleged recruitment slots demand

Dajo commended Gov. Hyacinth Alia for approving the recruitment of primary school teachers to bridge the existing gaps in public primary schools.

He said that the board does ensure that applicants are shortlisted and employed strictly in their local governments of origin, taking note of the financial autonomy granted to local governments.

He charged all government appointees to desist from actions that undermine the authority of the assembly.

(NAN)

The Benue State House of Assembly and the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, are at loggerheads over alleged demand for recruitment slots.

Nation  reports that the State House of Assembly had suspended the recruitment of primary school teachers over claims of irregularities in the recruitment exercise yesterday.

The Assembly also summoned the SUBEB chairman, Dr. Grace Adagba.

However, emerging reports suggest the lawmakers’ move might be connected to a request for recruitment slots, which SUBEB allegedly refused to grant.

Sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity with our reporter, claimed the lawmakers requested 1,000 slots for their people, but SUBEB refused, insisting on a fair recruitment process.

According to the sources, the recruitment exercise was suspended because SUBEB rejected the lawmakers’ demand. 

However, the Assembly said it is due to irregularities in the recruitment exercise.

A letter seen by our reporter , titled ‘Request for Employment Slot’, requested slots for Assembly members’ constituents.

The letter dated September 9, 2024, was signed by Igyundu Fidelis Denen on behalf of Cyphas Tervershima Dyako, Chairman of the Assembly’s Committee on Education.

Parts of the letter read: “In view of the ongoing recruitment of 9,700 teachers at SUBEB, the Committee kindly requests your office to provide one thousand (1,000) slots to Honorable members of the House for their constituents.

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“You are reminded to provide six (6) bound copies of information requested by the House… to reach the Committee Clerk on or before Friday, 13th September 2024.”

It was gathered that SUBEB refused to yield to the lawmakers’ demand insisting on maintaining a merit-based recruitment process.

The decision reportedly led to the Assembly’s resolution to suspend the exercise and summon Adagba.

But at a plenary session chaired by Speaker, Hyacinth Aondona Dajoh, the lawmakers defended the suspension by citing alleged irregularities, including the inclusion of unqualified candidates with poor test results.

This followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by member representing Makurdi South Constituency, Mr Douglas Akya, who expressed concerns that the Board shortlisted graduates without qualification in education, contrary to the requirements specified in the advertisement.

Akya said the manipulation of the exercise was against the governor’s good intention to revamp public primary schools.

Seconding the motion, Deputy Whip Alfred Emberga said he received several complaints from his constituents, noting that it was not the responsibility of the Board to recruit teachers.

Meanwhile, the SUBEB chairman, Adagba is expected to appear before the Assembly next week Tuesday to address the allegations and present documents, including recruitment results and a needs assessment for teachers.