Benue Assembly Makes U-Turn, Confirms Law Professor As Commissioner
In a new twist on Tuesday, the Benue State House of Assembly made a U-turn and confirmed the nomination of Timothy Yangien Ornguga as commissioner.
Ornguga, a law lecturer at the Benue State University, was rejected last week by the then Speaker, Aondona Dajoh.
However, the new Speaker, Alfred Berger, while reading a letter from Governor Hyacinth Alia on Tuesday, screened five more nominees, including the law professor.
The new speaker said the governor believed the two nominees — Ornguga and James Dwem — rejected by the former speaker have not been convicted of any crime despite the petitions submitted against their nominations, hence the appeal to clear them.
Surprisingly, the lawmakers who previously opposed their confirmation unanimously kept quiet when the speaker confirmed the two nominees without the usual voice votes.
The House suspended former speaker Dajoh for three months, for an alleged attempt to impeach Governor Alia.
The suspension of Dajoh followed the motion moved by on Tuesday by the lawmaker representing Kyan State Constituency, Terna Shimawua, and seconded by James Umoru from Apa State Constituency.
Interestingly, Shimawua, who moved the motion, was one of those suspended last week Friday by Dajoh before his resignation as Speaker.
The new Speaker, Berger, who ruled on the motion, reviewed Dajoh’s suspension from six to three months without the usual votes on such matters.
