Speaker Abbas Announces Major Committee Changes In House Of Reps

Speaker Abbas Tajudeen reshuffled four House committees, moving their chairmen to different committees to improve efficiency.
Former Chairman of Foreign Affairs, Abdulmumini Jibrin, was moved to Housing and Habitat, while other chairmen were reassigned to Judiciary, Army, and Foreign Affairs.
Deputy Speaker Idris Wase called for National Assembly intervention regarding the non-swearing-in of newly elected Plateau State House of Assembly members due to a Court of Appeal decision.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has reshuffled four House committees, moving their chairmen from one committee to another.

Tajudeen announced on Tuesday that the reshuffling aims to ensure the effective and efficient running of the House.

This online media platform reports that the former chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Hon. Abdulmumini Jibrin (NNPP, Kano), has been moved to the Committee on Housing and Habitat as chairman.

Meanwhile, Oluwole Oke has been moved from the Judiciary Committee to Foreign Affairs.

Hon. Aminu Balele, the former Chairman of the Committee on Housing and Habitat, has been reassigned to the Committee on Army as Chairman. Additionally, Hon. Abdullah Mamuda has been moved to the Committee on Judiciary as Chairman.

In another development, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, has called for the urgent intervention of the National Assembly regarding the non-swearing-in of certain newly elected members of the Plateau State House of Assembly.

In 2023, the Court of Appeal, while hearing appeals arising from judgments of the Plateau State Election Tribunal, nullified the Certificates of Return of 16 incumbent members of the state House of Assembly. The appellate court directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue Certificates of Return to the newly elected members.

In compliance with the Appeal Court’s order and relying on Section 72 (1) of the Electoral Act of 2022, INEC duly issued the Certificates of Return to the new members.

The Deputy Speaker, in a statement released on Tuesday, emphasized that the members-elect of the state Assembly have fulfilled all the legal requirements as stipulated in Section 94 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and Section 72 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

Expressing concern, Wase highlighted that the remaining members-elect of the state Assembly are being compelled to submit resignation letters accompanied by court affidavits, as a prerequisite for their swearing-in, which he views as a mockery of democracy.