The Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Bilyaminu Ismail Moriki, says the eight lawmakers who recently announced their defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) had been suspended from the Assembly since February 2024.
Moriki said the lawmakers were suspended on February 26, 2024, over allegations of gross misconduct, conspiracy, mischief, contempt of the House and violating the Assembly’s Standing Orders by convening an unauthorised sitting.
According to the Speaker, the allegations also included breaking into the offices of the Clerk and Sergeant-at-Arms, forcibly accessing the legislative chamber and damaging public property before holding an unauthorised sitting.
He said the allegations led to a criminal complaint against the lawmakers in court.
Reacting to their defection, Moriki described it as an attempt to divert attention from the disciplinary issues that led to their suspension and create an impression of instability within the Assembly.
He said the House remained stable and functional, with 16 active lawmakers currently conducting legislative business in line with the Constitution and its Standing Orders.
The Speaker added that the Assembly extended the lawmakers’ suspension for another legislative session on May 13, 2026, because the disciplinary issues remained unresolved.
He noted that two other lawmakers who had previously been suspended were reinstated after apologising to the House, arguing that this showed the disciplinary measures were not politically motivated.
Moriki said the Assembly held plenary last Tuesday and was scheduled to reconvene on Monday, insisting that the defection of suspended lawmakers should not be interpreted as evidence of a crisis in the legislature.
He urged the public to separate the lawmakers’ political decisions from the disciplinary proceedings against them, stressing that changing political parties does not invalidate pending legislative or legal matters arising from alleged misconduct.
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