Adamawa Assembly Speaker Explains Leadership Change

The new embattled Speaker of Adamawa Assembly, Alhaji Ahmadu Umaru, said the change was not an attempt to fight the executive as being speculated but to provide focus and sense of direction for the legislative arm.

Ahmadu in his inaugural speech Yola on Tuesday said the assembly would not succumb to blackmail or any form of intimidation in the performance of its constitutional role.

“The Adamawa State House of Assembly wishes to assure the people of Adamawa State that the recent change of leadership is effected for the purpose of providing focus and clear sense of direction to this arm of government.

“It is not a prelude to the commencement of any action to destabilise the executive arm headed by Gov. Murtala Nyako as being widely but wrongly perceived and generally speculated,” Ahmadu said.

He re-iterated that the lawmakers were conscious of their position as lawmakers and that their relationship with the executive arm would remain cordial based on the rule of law and within the bounds of each other’s constitutional limits.

Ahmadu urged the people of Adamawa to disregard rumour being peddled that the change was targeted to achieve a particular end or a certain sectional interest.

On continuous closure of the assembly since last Monday when the change was effected, Ahmadu said “legislative activities are currently on hold because of the desire to restore normalcy and will resume as soon as this is done”.

Meanwhile, the Adamawa Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Abdurrahman Jimeta, has described the change of leadership in the house and the series of protests that greeted it as a threat to peace.

Abdurrahaman told newsmen  that while government recognised the constitutional right of the house to change its leadership, there was need for the lawmakers to consider the need for the peaceful coexistence of the diverse people of the state.

He said the need for cooperation necessitated zoning of key government positions including that of the speaker.

Abdurrahman said the present structure had the governor coming from southern zone, deputy governor from northern zone thereby necessitating the need for the speaker to come from central zone.

He said the lawmakers ignored the zoning by picking the new speaker from the northern zone.

He said for the PDP dominated assembly it was disturbing the way the lawmakers chose to ignore the zoning arrangement of the party.

He added that their action coming just few weeks to the governorship election and the fact that opposition party members also played key role in effecting the change made the whole thing look suspicious to the people of Adamawa, particularly politicians in the ruling PDP