In a surprising development on Tuesday, the Benue State House of Assembly reversed its previous decision and confirmed the appointment of Timothy Yangien Ornguga as commissioner.
Ornguga, who serves as a law lecturer at Benue State University, had been rejected last week by the former Speaker, Aondona Dajoh.
However, during a session on Tuesday, the new Speaker, Alfred Berger, while presenting a letter from Governor Hyacinth Alia, reviewed five additional nominees, including the law professor.
The new Speaker stated that the governor was of the opinion that the two nominees — Ornguga and James Dwem — who were previously rejected by the former speaker had not been convicted of any crimes, despite the petitions against their nominations, thus justifying the request for their clearance.
Surprisingly, the lawmakers who had earlier opposed their confirmation remained silent when the speaker approved the two nominees without the customary voice votes.
The House also suspended former Speaker Dajoh for three months due to an alleged attempt to impeach Governor Alia.
Dajoh’s suspension was enacted following a motion introduced on Tuesday by Terna Shimawua, the lawmaker representing Kyan State Constituency, and seconded by James Umoru from Apa State Constituency.
Interestingly, Shimawua, who initiated the motion, was among those suspended last Friday by Dajoh prior to his resignation as Speaker.
The new Speaker, Berger, who presided over the motion, reduced Dajoh’s suspension from six months to three months without the standard voting process typically required for such decisions.
