Members at the National Assembly have been told to desist from suspending their colleagues over unclear allegations.
The Vice Presidential candidate of the APGA party in the 2023 general election, who incidentally is from the Bauchi Central Senatorial District, Comrade Abdullahi Koli stated this in an exclusive interview with Arewa PUNCH following Senate’s recall of Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi.
Comrade Koli who said he is proud that his senator is back to the floor of the National Assembly, insisted that the assembly had no constitutional right whatsoever to suspend Ningi in the first instance, especially as the matter was not thoroughly investigated.
While expressing his confidence in Senator Ningi’s representation, Koli called on the National Assembly to henceforth desist from such undemocratic decisions of suspending its members without investigating the truth of allegations against any member.
Koli stated, “If somebody is trying to defend himself, he should be allowed, and therefore be given enough time to defend himself.
“Moreover, there was no committee, nothing, and the Senate just decided to take action on him,” he lamented.
Comrade Koli maintained that Senator Ningi’s saga should be a great lesson to the National Assembly and the entire senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He expressed concern that Ningi’s absence from the National Assembly created a great gap bordering on his contributions to the debate in the House.
The APGA chieftain insisted, “He contributed a lot to the assembly not only in favour of his zone and state but in favour of the nation and the next generation.
“But that has been done. It should not be allowed to repeat itself because all the constitutional provisions did not allow for suspension of any member. But, we are law-abiding citizens, and that is why we did not take it in the wrong way,” Koli added.
He recounted that all that they did as constituents of Senator Abdul Ahmad Ningi was plead with the government to understand that the position taken by the assembly was wrong.
A grass roots politician who was another respondent from the Warji Local Government Area which is also a Constituent of the Bauchi Central Senatorial District, Muhammad Mansir Sadiq, said they are all delighted, that Senator Ningi had been recalled.
He added that the people in his Constituent and District are confident that he did fight for the common man and not for himself.
In the words of Mansir Sadiq, “We are aware that he was fighting for the people.
“He is known for his capabilities to speak the truth to the powers that be, and that is what we voted him for.”
In a similar vain, Mas’ud Hassan, a resident in one of the communities within the Constituency, stressed that “the world is a witness to the fight our representative is fighting at the NASS.”
He disclosed that “at the height of Ningi’s suspension, and following his return to the Red Chamber, it was with a warm welcome he was received by his constituents in Bauchi State when he visited and the same warmth from his colleagues was he received by his colleagues on the floor of the chamber.”
Hassan insisted that it was a testament to his dedication to service.