The All Progressive Congress (APC) in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau on Wednesday vowed not to recognise the elected Principal Officers of the Mangu Local Government Council Legislative Arm.
The Chairman of the party,Mr Abdullahi Garkuwa, made the declaration in an exclusive interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Mangu on Wednesday.
NAN reports that the legislative arm had on Oct. 15 held its inaugural sitting and elected Mr Manga Istifanus-Isa as Leader and Mr Humphrey Dungtaham-mutwuling as Majority leader,respectively.
And later at another seating it elected other officers to include Mr Kabiru Illiyasu-Chinbes as Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Noma Ayuba as Chief Whip and Mr Joseph Manasseh as Deputy Chief Whip.
But Garkuwa described their election as “illegal” and “null and void” as far as the APC and the local government area were concerned.
“As long as the leadership of APC in Mangu is concerned, the supposed elected legislative Principal Officers are illegal, and the elections null and void and shall not be recognised.
“Until the Legislators go back and do the right thing in accordance with the rules of the house, we won’t recognise them as leaders of the house in Mangu Local Government Area.
“They (legislators) should know that that the inaugural sitting they held on Oct. 15 around 6 p.m. during which they elected the leader, his deputy and the Majority leader, was in breach of the constitution and the rules of the house.
“More importantly, the house goofed by electing the Majority Leader, the Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip whose nominations to the house are the sole prerogative of the party,” he said.
In his reaction, however,Istifanus-Isa said that the house did nothing wrong as regards the emergence of the Principal Officers.
“We acted in accordance with Order 10 rule 4 and order 4(1) of the house and the constitution of the country in electing all the Principal Officers.
“Order 4 rule 1 of the rules guiding our operations as legislators vested the power to elect the Majority Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip on the house and not the party as claimed by our party chairman.
“We wonder why we, as members of one family or party should be having this kind of misunderstanding, more so that we regard our party chairman as our father,” he said.(NAN)
