The All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly condemned the Zamfara State House of Assembly for declaring the seat of the former minority leader, Aliyu Ango-Kagara, vacant. The party described the action as a deliberate attempt to silence the opposition and weaken its presence in the state legislature.
Ango-Kagara, who represents Talata Mafara South State Constituency, lost his seat on Tuesday after the assembly announced that it was vacant. However, the APC, through its spokesman in Zamfara, Yusuf Idris, rejected the decision, calling it an abuse of power.
APC Accuses Assembly of Political Motives
Reacting to the development on Wednesday, Idris issued a statement accusing the assembly of plotting to remove APC lawmakers from the legislative house.
“We consider the assembly’s action as a move to weed out the APC from the state assembly. The declaration of the minority leader’s seat vacant was just for political reasons to silence the opposition in the house,” he said.
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The party insisted that the decision was politically motivated and warned that it might take legal action to challenge the assembly’s ruling.
“We condemn the action of the Zamfara assembly. We caution the state lawmakers that the matter may lead the APC to approach a court of law for proper interpretation and claim damages,” the statement added.
Suspension of Eight Lawmakers Sparks More Tension
The APC also raised concerns over the suspension of eight of its members in January 2024, calling it unconstitutional. The party accused the assembly’s leadership of suppressing opposition voices and disregarding due process.
“This is coming in addition to the illegal suspension of eight members of the house since January 2024,” the statement noted.
The party further argued that the state legislature had been unfairly punishing lawmakers who refused to submit to its control.
“It is very unfortunate that the leadership of the house has been fighting their colleagues who refused to dance to their tunes, especially as rubber stamps,” the party stated.
According to the APC, even if any lawmaker had violated the house rules, they should have been given a fair hearing before any disciplinary action was taken.
“Even if a member of the house is found in violation of the House rules, he must be given fair hearing preceding any action and not the blindfolded action of those members who think their uninformed act will hold water,” the statement said.