The Benue All Progressive Congress (APC) Elders’ Forum said the state House of Assembly acted within the Nigerian 1999 Constitution in removing the state chief judge, Maurice Ikpambese.

The forum’s chairman, Barnabas Gemade, disclosed this during a press conference in Makurdi on Saturday.

Mr Gemade said the party elders unanimously support the assembly’s decision.

The chairman told journalists that the forum reviewed all that transpired in the assembly, engaged its leadership, and discovered that they acted within the law.

He said two-thirds of the lawmakers voted for the removal of the chief judge as required by the constitution.

“It is clear that the Benue State House of Assembly acted within the constitutional framework outlined in section 292(1)(a)(ii) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

“We stand in solidarity with the assembly on this decision, especially given the serious allegations that necessitated such action, including mismanagement of the sum of N666.9 million in less than one year.

“Abuse of office by acting outside the scope of his work as the chief judge, as evidenced in granting a waiver of Section 76 of the Benue State Electoral Law.

“The electoral law was duly passed by the Benue State House of Assembly and assented to by the Executive Governor of Benue, amongst other grievous misconduct,” he said.

Mr Gemade commended the state assembly for promptly sanctioning their erring members who attempted to ridicule what they did collectively during the preliminary.

On allegations that the assembly sanctioned the chief judge even before directing the governor to write to the National Judicial Council for investigation, Mr Gemade said he was only removed as a chief judge and not as a judicial officer.

He said the constitutional provisions for removing a chief judge and judicial officer differed.

The group further passed a vote of confidence in Governor Hyacinth Alia and President Bola Tinubu and pledged to support their second-term bid in 2027.

On the call by Senate minority leader Abba Moro (PDP/Benue West) that the National Assembly should take over the Benue House of Assembly, the group said the senator’s call was not supported by the country’s constitution.

He said Mr Moro’s motion was misguided and demonstrated his lack of understanding of the constitutional process.

“Section 11(4), which mandates the National Assembly to take over the functions of the state assembly, can only be activated when the state assembly is unable to perform its functions by reason of a situation prevailing in the state.

“Section 11(5) explicitly defines the inability of the house to perform its functions as when the house is unable to hold a meeting and transact its business.

“As elders, we urge Senator Moro to focus on providing quality representation to his constituents rather than his desperate attempt to destabilise a performing APC administration in his home state,” he said.

Mr Gemade further called on all stakeholders in Benue State to prioritise unity and cooperation and for the opposition to engage constructively rather than seeking to undermine the progress.

(NAN)