The crisis rocking the Bauchi State House of Assembly has been resolved as members of the Kawuwa Shehu Damina faction on Friday took oath of office. The faction had been at loggerheads with other members who elected Abubakar Y. Suleman as Speaker during the inauguration of the 9th Assembly.

Damina was the immediate past Speaker of the 8th Assembly who was elected as factional Speaker by a section of members of the House of Assembly in a separate inauguration.

Abubakar Suleiman was elected by 11 Members at the inauguration presided over by the Clerk in the House chambers. Kawuwa Shehu Damina was however elected by the other members at the premises of the State House of Assembly.

The All Progressives Congress has 22 Members, the Peoples Democratic Party has 8 while the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has one member in the 31 member House of Assembly. The former Speaker, Kawuwa Shehu Damina and the other 16 members take their oath of office and oath of allegiance at the Special session held Friday night.

The special session was presided over by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Danlami Ahmed Kawule. The session was observed by the state Governor, Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, and his Deputy, Senator Baba Tela, who watched the proceedings from the gallery.

Speaking to journalists shortly after the session, Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed thanked the members for shelving their personal interest for the collective interest of the state. He said that their action has shown that despite political differences they can work for the interest and development of Bauchi State for the benefit of its people. He said that the crisis was resolved through honest engagement of all stakeholders including traditional and religious leaders who worked to see the end to the protracted crisis so that the state can move forward.

Governor Mohammed noted that the reconciliation has also indicated the political maturity in Bauchi State which he said is the home of democracy in the country. (Daily Trust)