Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Bilyaminu Ismail Moriki, has said the eight lawmakers who resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) were already under suspension before announcing their defection from the party.
Gatekeepers News reports that the lawmakers resigned from the APC on Sunday, October 4, 2026, citing worsening insecurity, alleged injustice and unpaid salaries and allowances.
The lawmakers are Aliyu Kagara, representing Talata Mafara South; Ibrahim Tukur, representing Bakura; Faruk Dosara, representing Maradun I; Bashir Masama, representing Bukkuyum North; Muktaru Kaura, representing Kaura North; Nasiru Abdullahi, representing Maru North; Bashar Bello, representing Bungudu West; and Bashar Aliyu, representing Gummi I.
Kagara had said the lawmakers had gone 32 months without receiving salaries, allowances and other entitlements, while also criticising the state government over what he described as inadequate attention to insecurity in rural communities.
However, in a statement responding to the development, Moriki said the eight lawmakers had been suspended by the Assembly since February 26, 2024, over allegations of gross misconduct.
According to the Speaker, the allegations included conspiracy, mischief, contempt of the House and convening an illegal sitting in violation of the Assembly’s Standing Orders.
He said the lawmakers were also accused of breaking into the offices of the Clerk and the Sergeant-at-Arms, forcibly gaining access to the legislative chamber, damaging Assembly property and subsequently holding an unauthorised sitting.
Moriki said the allegations were serious enough to result in a criminal complaint against the lawmakers before a court of competent jurisdiction.
He said their recent defection should therefore not be presented as the cause of their suspension or as evidence of instability within the Assembly.
“The Zamfara State House of Assembly is stable, functional and fully engaged in its constitutional responsibilities. The purported defection of members who have remained under suspension cannot be presented as evidence of disarray in the House,” Moriki said.
“These members were suspended for alleged gross misconduct and serious violations of the Standing Orders of the House, including allegations bordering on forceful entry into offices of the Assembly, destruction of public property and the convening of an unauthorised legislative sitting.”
The Speaker said the suspension “substantially predates” the lawmakers’ defection from the APC, stressing that it arose from disciplinary matters within the Assembly.
Moriki further disclosed that the House approved an extension of the lawmakers’ suspension on May 13, 2026, for another legislative session because the disciplinary issues remained unresolved.
He said two other lawmakers who had previously been suspended were later reinstated after apologising to the House, arguing that the disciplinary process was not targeted at any particular political affiliation.
The Speaker also dismissed claims that the Assembly was unable to function because of the lawmakers’ suspension.
According to him, the House currently has 16 active members and continues to conduct legislative business in accordance with the Constitution and its Standing Orders.
“The House held its plenary last Tuesday and is scheduled to reconvene tomorrow, Monday. There is therefore no basis whatsoever for portraying the Zamfara State House of Assembly as being in disarray,” he said.
Moriki urged the public to distinguish between the lawmakers’ decision to leave the APC and the disciplinary proceedings against them.
He maintained that changing political platforms does not extinguish or invalidate pending legislative disciplinary matters or legal proceedings arising from alleged misconduct.
