Nasarawa assembly shut as youths attack lawmakers
| credits: File copy
The
Nasarawa State House of Assembly was on Tuesday shut down after youths
attacked lawmakers for inviting Governor Tanko Al-Makura to answer
questions on the non-implementation of the House resolutions.
The Speaker, Alhaji Musa Muhammed,
announced this indefinite closure at a press conference attended by the
state Commissioner of Police, Shehu Umar in Lafia on Tuesday.
Mohammed said the assembly had alerted
security agencies in the state to the impending attack; and yet the
youth found their way into the assembly complex.
He said the house would no longer sit until the security of the members could be guaranteed.
Also, the police commissioner said the
police were trying to calm the situation and would ensure that the
perpetrators were brought to book.
Hundreds of youth had stormed the
Assembly on Tuesday throwing stones and other weapons at the lawmakers
after Al-Makura, appeared before the lawmakers.
The youth were not happy with the
invitation of Al-Makura by the Assembly to explain the executive’s
non-implementation of the lawmakers’ resolutions.
The youth waited outside the assembly premises until the lawmakers adjourned for the day and allowed the governor to go.
They defied security officials and pelted the lawmakers’ vehicles with stones and other materials.
The youth also defied the state governor who tried to pacify them.
Security officials had to fire tear-gas to disperse them.
Observers, however, read political
meaning into this action. This is because Al-Makura is a member of the
All Progressives Congress while the majority of the lawmakers are
members of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The Nasarawa PDP had warned of retaliation should the lawmakers be attacked.
In a statement, the Nasarawa PDP chairman, Yunana Iliya, said nobody had the monopoly of violence.
Before the fracas, Al-Makura had answered lawmakers’ questions on the floor of the Assembly.
Al-Makura had told the lawmakers that
although their resolutions were advisory, his administration had been
doing its best to ensure that the assembly’s orders were respected.
http://www.punchng.com/news/nasarawa-assembly-shut-as-youths-attack-lawmakers/
August 28, 2013 by Sodiq Oyeleke with agency reports
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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