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House of Assembly Crisis: Why CBN, Accountant General Must Stop Monthly Allocations To Benue, Zamfara — Group
The Concerned Citizens Network for Democracy (CCND) has given the Benue and Zamfara State Houses of Assembly a 72-hour ultimatum to recall all suspended lawmakers or face legal action seeking to halt statutory monthly allocations to the two states.
In a statement issued in Abuja and signed by Moses Adamu, the group’s Secretary-General, CCND accused the state governments of supervising an ongoing constitutional breach, stressing that both Houses of Assembly currently lack the legal quorum required to function and pass appropriation laws.
The group threatened to file a suit at the Federal High Court to compel the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Accountant General of the Federation to withhold monthly FAAC disbursements until constitutional order is restored.
“This is not just an internal matter within the legislature of two states. It is a clear case of abuse of democratic institutions, where state governors, in collaboration with the speakers, are running their states without the minimum legislative legitimacy required by law. It is a rape of democracy,” Adamu said.
According to CCND, both Benue and Zamfara Assemblies have unlawfully suspended nearly half of their members, leaving behind insufficient numbers to meet the constitutionally stipulated two-thirds quorum. Yet, these minority legislators continue to sit, deliberate, and pass critical motions — including budget-related matters.
“No House of Assembly can validly function, debate, or legislate without a legal quorum. When the majority of duly elected lawmakers are suspended under questionable circumstances, the assembly ceases to be legitimate. This undermines every law, appropriation, and oversight action carried out by the remaining minority members.”
He added that the direct consequence of this illegality is that both governors — Hyacinth Alia of Benue and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara — are currently running governments that no longer have the endorsement of their state assemblies as constituted by law.
“Without a legally constituted assembly, any action taken by the executive lacks the moral and legal seal of the people. These governors are not kings. They are elected heads of government, expected to govern with legislative oversight and institutional balance,” he added.
CCND argued that the only peaceful and constitutional means to correct the ongoing abuse is to apply financial pressure by halting monthly allocations until the crisis is resolved.
“Public funds are being released to state executives who are acting outside of constitutional provisions. The CBN and the Accountant General of the Federation must not continue to fund illegality. By continuing to disburse FAAC allocations to Benue and Zamfara states, federal institutions are aiding and abetting constitutional violations,” the statement added.
The group likened the current situation to a private company operating without a functioning board of directors, stating that no legitimate financial institution would continue to release money in such circumstances.
“The state Houses of Assembly are the people’s boardrooms. You cannot suspend half the directors and claim to be conducting lawful business.”
Beyond the technical breach, the group raised concerns over the pattern of political intimidation behind the suspensions. In both states, suspended lawmakers are known critics of the executive arm, and many were removed after raising concerns about security, budget implementation and constituency project transparency.
“This is not about disorderly conduct or gross misconduct as the speakers claim. This is about silencing opposition, clearing the path for unchecked control, and removing voices that demand transparency. It is dictatorship in democratic clothing,” the group said.
Adamu said the CCND had credible information that some of the suspended lawmakers in Benue were denied access to the assembly complex and had their benefits frozen without due process.
The group warned that the failure of civil society, federal institutions, and the judiciary to respond firmly to the situation could set a dangerous precedent where governors, in collaboration with pliant speakers, cripple state assemblies and rule without accountability.
“If this pattern continues unchecked, governors across the country will see it as a playbook: suspend dissenters, shrink the assembly, rule without scrutiny, and get paid for it. Nigeria’s democracy is too fragile to permit such a loophole,” the statement read.
The CCND said it is giving the governments of Benue and Zamfara three days to recall all suspended members and reinstate the constitutional balance of their assemblies.
“If by the end of 72 hours there is no concrete step to resolve this, our lawyers will file a suit asking the Federal High Court to declare the current assemblies illegal and compel the federal government to freeze statutory allocations until due process is restored,” Adamu concluded.
More than ₦3 billion was targeted, but about ₦677 million reached the culprits, with recovery and prosecutions underway, reflecting how banks are responding to more sophisticated fraud risks.
Nigeria’s expanding digital banking sector is facing increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts, as financial institutions adapt to faster transactions and broader online services.
A recent case involving First City Monument Bank (FCMB), linked to fraudulent activity detected in December 2025, has drawn attention to how banks are responding to such incidents, with a focus on limiting exposure, recovering funds and working with law enforcement.
According to findings referenced in proceedings before the Lagos State Special Offences Court, the incident involved unauthorised transactions tied to a digital product. Early reports erroneously suggested more than ₦3 billion was lost. Subsequent clarification shows that over ₦3 billion was targeted, ₦2.4 billion was blocked and recovered, while ₦677 million got into the possession of the culprits. This outcome reflects the bank’s cyber security and monitoring capabilities, as well as improved collaboration among regulated financial institutions and with law enforcement agencies. Several suspects and beneficiaries have been apprehended, while recovery and prosecution efforts are ongoing, led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Proceedings at the Lagos State Special Offences Court have resulted in convictions, including that of a repeat offender, with restitution orders issued. Related matters are also being handled at the Federal High Court in Lagos, where additional suspects are being tried in connection with the scheme. This process is aimed at ensuring that bad actors are identified and permanently blacklisted from the financial system.
Authorities say recovery efforts are continuing as additional funds are traced.
Analysts note that the pace of legal action reflects closer coordination between financial institutions and enforcement agencies in addressing cyber-related financial crime.
The case comes as banks contend with more complex fraud methods, including social engineering and automated exploitation of system processes.
As digital products and platforms expand, so too does the risk associated with cyber-crime and related fraud.
“The scale of digital banking means risks are evolving alongside the systems,” said a Lagos-based financial analyst. “Institutions are now judged by how they manage these events.”
Observers say the sector is moving toward a stronger focus on response and recovery, rather than prevention alone.
This includes improving monitoring capabilities, strengthening transaction controls and enhancing collaboration with regulators and law enforcement. The FCMB case, with limited exposure relative to the amount targeted and ongoing recovery, reflects that shift.
For customers, the primary concern is the safety of their funds. In this case, there has been no indication of losses affecting customer deposits. Maintaining that level of protection remains central to sustaining trust in the financial system.
Nigeria’s financial sector continues to grow, supported by digital innovation and expanding access to banking services.
However, analysts say fraud attempts are likely to persist as systems become more complex and interconnected.
They say institutions will increasingly be judged not only on their ability to prevent incidents, but on how effectively they respond and recover when they occur.
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Ex-APC Deputy Guber flag bearer, Joshua MacIver backs Tinubu, express fears over implosion in Bayelsa APC
….congratulates new State Party Chairman, Warman Ogoriba
APC Deputy Governorship Candidate in the 2023 general elections in Bayelsa State, Great Joshua MacIver has declared his total commitment to the re-election of President Bola Tinubu come 2027, declaring that the Tinubu re-election project is non-negotiable.
Great Joshua MacIver, in his statement titled ” BAYELSA APC CONGRESSES: GOING FORWARD, A CALL TO LOOK INWARDS” and made available to newsmen in Yenagoa, warned APC leaders in the state to look Inward and take note of certain factors which may hinder or cut short our victory.
According to Great Joshua MacIver, such noticeable pitfalls include the imbalance in the united front being put up by the State Governor,Senator Douye Diri among various political blocs in the state.
In the statement issued at the weekend. Great Joshua MacIver stated that “First, before His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, joined the APC in the state, there were clearly two political blocs that made up the party, with the approximate population ratios of the blocs standing at 95% to 5%.”
“After the entrance of His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, ONLY THE SMALLER BLOC IS BEING CARRIED ALONG IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE PARTY, leaving the greater percentage to their fate, and this situation has the potential to build anger and dissatisfaction in our dear party.”
” The consequence of this has been the high level defection we have witnessed in the party recently and we believe more may likely follow, if we do not put our house in order.”
” If we do not pull together as a party, we may witness a situation where we will lose key stakeholders, especially after the State and National Assembly Primaries as well the Gubernatorial Primaries.”
“Finally, while it is very clear that we are the party to beat in the 2027 elections and that our loyalty to Mr. President IS NON-NEGOTIABLE, we must make haste to say that we cannot afford to create situations or loopholes in our unity which will be exploited by other political interests in the state. We cannot afford to under-rate anyone.”
“Our core interest remains the re-election of Mr. President, a project to which we have committed our all. We also pledge our total loyalty to the party as we have no alternative to the APC. However, our concern is that we must, as a party, look inwards and ensure that we do not create loopholes that can impede our common goal.”
Great Joshua MacIver, however congratulated the newly elected State Executives of the APC in Bayelsà State led by Hon. Warman Ogoriba, saying their emergence is welcomed at this critical time in our national history.
At least 23 people were killed in a series of suspected suicide bombings, police in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri said on Tuesday.
https://www.stanbicibtcbank.com/nigeriabank/personal/products-and-services/all-loans/stanbic-ibtc-mreif-home-loans
More than 100 other people were injured in the blasts that took place on Monday evening in the capital of Nigeria’s restive Borno state.
No group has claimed responsibility for the suspected attacks.
The deadly blasts come after a military post was attacked overnight Sunday to Monday, which authorities blamed on suspected Islamist militants.
This sad incident is coming barely two weeks after Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church specifically warned against attacks in some states. He mentioned these states while calling on security operatives to pay close attention to them.
These were his words:
“Another attack is coming up in these following states where the military must watch carefully and intelligently; Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Kwara and Kogi state. They want to do a deadly attack, it’s preventable but it depends on how they will handle it. I have told you about the danger coming up.”
@primateayodele
Unfortunately, some of our military agencies don’t believe spiritual intelligence can save the country from so much danger hence, their neglect of this prophetic warning but now, it has been fulfilled with the miliary losing credibility by the day while Primate Ayodele continues to gain momentum.
Likewise, At least 26 passengers and crew sustained varying degrees of injuries on Monday following an accident involving the Kaduna–Abuja train, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
Opeifa explained that the train departed Rigasa in Kaduna at 7:15 a.m. and was approaching Asham station around 9:16 a.m. when a loud bang was heard after the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the passenger coaches.
In July 2025, Primate Ayodele asked nigerians to pray not to see train mishap on the Kaduna-Abuja route.
@primateayodele #nigeriantiktok🇳🇬 #fulfillment #train #abuja #primateayodele
“Let’s pray not to see train mishap in Abuja-Kaduna, Kaduna-Abuja route.”
This has also been fulfilled.
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