Symbol Of Authority In Kaduna Assembly, The Mace, Declared Missing

FILE PHOTO
FILE PHOTO

The symbol of authority of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, the mace, has been stolen. It reportedly “vanished” into thin air last September and has not been seen ever since.

However, the Assembly, on Wednesday directed its Ethics and Privileges Committee to investigate the circumstances leading to the disappearance of the official mace.

The directive to find the mace was sequel to a motion moved by Alhaji Aliyu Jigo, member representing Kakangi constituency in Birnin-Gwari Local Government, of the state. He cited the protection of the integrity of the House of Assembly as reason for raising the motion.

His words: “It has been noticed that the mace usually used for conducting the business of the House is not there, the House has been using the back-up mace to conduct its business”.

According to him, the mace is the symbol of authority in the house which is generally respected by members, adding: “I feel it is very wrong for any member to remove it from the house”.

The lawmaker maintained that the House should investigate the whereabouts of the mace to maintain its tradition, adding that the mace had become a part of the House norms and values.

It would be recalled that the official mace was removed from the floor of the Assembly at the height of the leadership crisis that erupted in the House last year.

The crisis consumed the then Speaker, Alhaji Mu’azu Gangara and other principal officers. However, since then, the Assembly had been using the mace used by the previous legislature to conduct its businesses.

After listening to contributions from other members, the Speaker, Alhaji Usman Tahir, gave the ethics committee three weeks to investigate the matter and report back to the House.