State Assembly to sue governor for allegedly calling Lawmakers ‘Illiterates’
Members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly have threatened legal action against former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, for allegedly calling the lawmakers ” stark illiterates ” on radio.
While reacting to El-Rufai’s comments, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Hon. Henry Marah Zachariah, on behalf of the lawmakers, said members of the Assembly possessed both legal, educational and moral qualifications and have dutifully discharged their constitutional responsibilities to carry out the investigation against him.
“El-Rufai is a noisemaker seeking political relevance,” the House members alleged.
El-Rufa’i had during a local radio programme, said members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly “are stark illiterates” and did not have the capacity to investigate his administration.
According to Hon. Zachariah ,“We wish to remind the former Governor that all the Honorable Members of the Assembly met constitutional requirement to contest and win their various elections as enshrined in Section 106 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended).”
“Members of the Assembly possessed both legal, educational and moral qualifications and have dutifully discharged their constitutional responsibilities to carry out the investigation.”
“All the findings of the Adhoc Committee against the former Governor and his administration are in the public domain and all his attempt to impugn the report in court failed and until the Committee’s report is successfully challenged in court, the former Governor remain indicted,” he said.
The legislators said they would take legal actions against El-Rufa’i for calling them ‘stark illiterates’ .
“On the issue of defamation of character of the Members of the Assembly, alleging that they are stark illiterates, the Assembly will take appropriate legal action against the former Governor to protect their image and integrity and the Assembly as an Institution for the sake of posterity.”
“On the removal of the former Executive Chairman of KADIRS of his appointment, the Rt. Hon. Speaker has no powers to hire or fire any appointed officer in the State,” he added.