Plateau House members to Gov. Lalong: No overhead no sitting

The Plateau State House of Assembly, yesterday said it will not sit to perform its statutory function until the Governor, Simon Lalong, commences the payment of its statutory overhead allowance for members.

Our correspondent gathered that the House has not been given its overhead by the Executive for the past 8 months and this has seriously affected the quest to perform their oversight functions and the sitting of most House Committees.

Our observation also revealed that the House, had discovered that the 2017 Budgetary provisions of the state have not been duly followed nor executed by the state Executive and to officially confirm this, the House has set up a committee to investigate the 2017 State budget.

However the report of the committee findings was stalled last week owing to the on-going party primaries for the councillorship seat across the state.
A House Member who who does not want his name on print told our correspondent that section 128 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), empowers the state House of Assembly to direct an inquiry or investigation into:-

Any matter or thing with respect to which it has power to make law; and the conduct of affairs of any person, authority, Ministry or government department charged, or intended to be charged, with the duty of responsibility for:- i. execution or administering laws enacted by that House of Assembly, and ii. Disbursing or administering moneies appropriated or to be appropriated by such House.

Daily Times reports that the House Members had met with the Governor at the instance of the Governor to look for way to resolving the issue.

By Kingsley Chukwuka, Jos