The Jigawa State House of Assembly has suspended the Speaker of the Auyo Legislative Council, Haruna Maigari, over alleged anti-party activities.

The suspension was announced during plenary on Tuesday in Dutse, the state capital, following the adoption of a motion by the Majority Leader of the House, Lawan Dansure.

According to the Assembly, the action was taken over allegations that Maigari’s conduct was detrimental to the unity and cohesion of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state.

Moving the motion, Dansure urged lawmakers to support disciplinary measures against the council speaker, arguing that anti-party activities at the grassroots could undermine the party’s strength ahead of future elections.

He said the House had a responsibility to protect party discipline and preserve the stability of the APC in Jigawa State.

Following deliberations, members unanimously adopted the motion.

Speaker of the House, Haruna Dangyatin, subsequently announced Maigari’s suspension with immediate effect pending further investigation.

“Hon. Haruna Maigari is hereby suspended as Speaker of Auyo Legislative Council over alleged anti-party activities,” Dangyatin declared during the session.

The Speaker also constituted an investigative committee to examine the allegations and submit its findings within two weeks.

He said the committee would establish the facts surrounding the matter and recommend further action where necessary.

Dangyatin further directed the suspended council speaker to immediately hand over all official documents and responsibilities to the Deputy Speaker of the Auyo Legislative Council to ensure continuity of legislative activities.

The suspension comes amid reported disciplinary actions against some APC members in the state following the party’s recent primary elections.

Cracks have emerged within the Lagos State chapter of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, as members of the State Executive Committee accused the chairman, Mr King Okuneye, of manipulating the outcome of the party’s primaries and running the organisation without due consultation.

The allegations were made on Tuesday during a press conference in Ikeja by the party’s Deputy Chairman, Mr Akinwande Osikominu, following an emergency meeting attended by some members of the state executive.

Osikominu alleged that the chairman had consistently sidelined other party leaders in key decision-making processes, a situation he said had fueled internal divisions and weakened confidence in the leadership of the party.

According to him, tensions within the party reached a breaking point during the conduct of the recent primaries.

He claimed that members of the State Executive Committee were unaware of the existence of a separate election committee allegedly constituted by the party’s national leadership until the collation stage of the exercise.

“Most embarrassingly, the State Exco was kept completely in the dark about the establishment of any parallel election committee by the National Body. We only learned of its existence during collation.

“This level of secrecy and exclusion sidelined the entire Executive Committee, leaving us humiliated and eroding trust in the leadership,” he said.

The deputy chairman further accused Okuneye of disregarding decisions reached collectively by party leaders and unilaterally altering election reports and results.

“The Chairman stands accused of unilaterally altering election reports and results that were previously agreed upon through collaborative processes.

“This breach has further fractured internal cohesion and deepened the sense of exclusion felt by the State Exco,” Osikominu alleged.

He warned that the unresolved issues could undermine the party’s performance in future elections if urgent steps were not taken to address them.

Osikominu also expressed concern over what he described as the chairman’s prolonged absence from Lagos State, arguing that effective leadership requires constant engagement with party structures and grassroots members.

“King Okuneye has been resident outside Lagos State for several years. This prolonged physical absence has created a significant operational disconnect, impairing his ability to understand and respond to the unique dynamics, challenges and opportunities in Lagos.

“The resulting leadership vacuum continues to weaken grassroots coordination and threatens the party’s overall viability in the state,” he said.

The deputy chairman further alleged that the chairman had failed to properly constitute and publish an authentic list of local government executives, a development he said had led to confusion and competing claims to leadership positions in several councils.

He also raised concerns over the management of party finances, alleging that party funds were being paid into personal accounts without adequate transparency or accountability.

“Multiple aspirants have lodged consistent and verifiable complaints about exorbitant demands for funds to influence outcomes, secure favourable reports or gain access to party processes.

“Party funds are routinely channelled into the Chairman’s personal accounts and other unofficial channels, with zero disclosure, no audits and no accountability.

“The state treasurer has been rendered completely redundant since inauguration, with no visibility into inflows or outflows,” he claimed.

Osikominu also alleged that the party secretariat had been largely abandoned, with many official activities allegedly being conducted in hotels, lounges and business centres instead of the designated party office.

Despite the grievances, he reaffirmed the loyalty of the executive members to the party’s national leadership and called on the National Executive Committee to investigate the allegations and restore transparency, accountability and inclusiveness within the Lagos chapter.

Responding to the allegations, a source close to the chairman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, dismissed the claims as unfounded and politically motivated.

The source maintained that Okuneye had performed effectively as chairman and denied accusations of result manipulation, financial misconduct and high-handedness.

“All the allegations are baseless. The chairman has been up and doing in the discharge of his duties. All those things about results manipulation, high-handedness and diversion of funds are pure lies.

“This is what happens when things do not go in the way of people. They wanted certain people to emerge at the primaries, but party members decided otherwise. They are just losers.

“They are a bunch of selfish, disloyal people who are bent on creating unnecessary problems in the party,” the source said.

Former Secretary General of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Anthony Sani, on Wednesday said the North would vote for President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

Speaking with DAILY POST, Sani said the North would back Tinubu’s second term bid to boost its chances of returning to power in 2031.

He said: “President Bola Tinubu will get the majority votes in the North because the North is hoping to produce the President in 2031 after it has been in the South for eight years.”

The former ACF scribe also said the South-East would vote for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, due to what he described as the politics of zoning.

He said: “Politics of identity called zoning would not allow Igbos to vote against Peter Obi in 2027.This is because this time the President is in the South and is expected to be in the North by 2031.”

Sani further noted that the North would not back Obi’s presidential ambition because the region does not trust him to do just one term.

He added: “As to Peter Obi, the North cannot trust Peter Obi’s pledge to do only one tenure. What is more, the North believes a President Peter Obi will play Gorbachev who presides over the collapse of Soviet Union, since he has not condemned IPOB and Nnamdi Kanu.”