By Idris Salisu, Gusau

The Zamfara State Factional House of Assembly on Wednesday announced the dissolution of all principal officers and standing committees, appointing two new sensitive committees to refocus the institution.

This announcement was made by the factional speaker, Hon. Bashar Aliyu Gummi, shortly after the House plenary held in Gusau, the state capital.

Hon. Gummi stated that two standing committees—the Ethics and Privileges Committee and the Works and Infrastructure Committee—have been reconstituted. These committees will now be chaired by Hon. Masama and Hon. Bashir Sarkin Zango, respectively.

The House also resolved to refer reports of financial misappropriation by the dissolved principal officers to the EFCC and ICPC, with the aim of recovering any diverted public funds.

During the plenary, under matters of urgent public importance, the lawmakers condemned the perceived lopsided appointments of Permanent Secretaries by the administration of Governor Dauda Lawal.

Hon. Ibrahim Tudu Tukur, a member representing Bakura Local Government, raised a motion highlighting that some local government areas had been completely excluded from the appointment process. He pointed out that while some favored areas had more than nine Permanent Secretaries, areas like Tsafe, Maradun, and Birnin Magaji had none.

He described the appointments as a violation of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), calling for a review in the interest of fairness and justice for all citizens of the state.

The House immediately directed Governor Dauda Lawal to reverse the appointments and ensure the inclusion of Permanent Secretaries from all local government areas.

In addition, the factional Assembly expressed concern over the slow progress of the Gusau-Dansadau road project. Members alleged that large sums of money had been allocated to the contractors since last year, but work on the project had barely covered five kilometers. The House directed the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure to appear before them and explain the delay, stressing that public funds must be used judiciously.

The legislature also urged Governor Dauda Lawal to reopen at least two boarding schools that had been shut down due to insecurity in each of the three senatorial districts, as requested by parents. They argued that the closure of the schools had impacted students’ education and the school feeding program, which had helped retain underprivileged children in school.

The parallel factional Assembly, led by Hon. Gummi, emerged last week and has since been raising issues of public concern, particularly against the executive and the faction led by Hon. Moriki.

Attempts to contact the spokesman of the state House of Assembly, Bello Madaru, for a comment were unsuccessful as his phone was unavailable.