Majority Leader position sparks fresh crisis at Nasarawa House of Assembly

A potential leadership crisis is forming in the Nasarawa State House of Assembly over the office of Majority Leader, which is now held by Suleiman Yakubu Azara of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who represents the Awe South seat.

The controversy originates from the replacement of Adamu Omadefu, the APC’s Keana constituency representative, who previously held the job.

The Court of Appeal deemed Omadefu’s election to the 7th Assembly inconclusive in November 2023, ordering a repeat of five voting units in the constituency’s Agaza ward.

Omadefu won the rerun election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC, and was sworn in for a second term.

However, some APC stakeholders, apparently backed by a former Speaker of the Assembly, are requesting that Azara step down as Majority Leader, arguing that the job was designated to the Keana constituency.

The stakeholders, with the support of some Assembly members, have threatened to remove the Assembly’s leadership if their demands are not granted.

They accused the current Speaker, Danladi Jatau of the Kokona West seat, of breaking an agreement that led to his appointment as Speaker following the dismissal of his predecessor, Ibrahim Abdullahi Balarabe, for electoral misconduct.