Nasarawa Assembly Suspends Kwanta’s Screening Over Alleged Insubordination
The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has decided to suspend the screening of Hon. Yakubu Kwanta, the former Commissioner for Environment, for the position of Commissioner due to alleged insubordination. The Assembly cited Kwanta’s failure to appear before the House Committee on Environment to defend his ministry’s 2024 budget performance as the key reason behind this suspension.
The matter came to light on Monday when Hon. Muhammed Adamu Omadefu, the member representing Keana Constituency and chairman of the House Committee on Environment, raised the issue during the screening of new commissioner-nominees forwarded by Governor Abdullahi Sule.
Omadefu reminded the Assembly that Kwanta, during his tenure as Commissioner for Environment, had failed to attend the committee’s meeting where he was expected to explain his ministry’s budget. “Honourable Speaker and my honourable colleagues, the nominee, Hon. Yakubu Kwanta, the immediate-past Commissioner for Environment, failed to appear before our committee to defend his ministry’s budget,” Omadefu stated. “His failure to appear before this House to explain his actions warrants a strong apology before we consider him for screening.”
In response, Speaker Rt. Hon. Danladi Jatau announced that Kwanta’s screening would be postponed. He emphasized that unless the nominee provided a formal apology to the House, his nomination would not proceed.
Despite the setback for Kwanta, the House successfully screened seven out of the 16 commissioner-nominees put forward by Governor Sule on February 10. The approved nominees included Hon. Umar Tanko Tunga (Awe LGA), Dr. John DW Mamman (Kokona LGA), Hajiya Munirat Abdullahi (Doma LGA), Mr. Gabriel Agbashi (Doma LGA), Barr. Isaac Danladi (Karu LGA), Princess Margret Itaki Elayo (Keana LGA), and Dr. Ibrahim Tanko (Keffi LGA).
After the screening, Speaker Jatau congratulated the successful nominees, urging them to serve with integrity and dedication if confirmed as members of the Nasarawa State Executive Council.
