There are efforts in Benue State to suspend Dr. Grace Adagba, the Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
A few days ago, the Benue State House of Assembly passed a motion calling on Governor Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia to suspend the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) chairman.
The Special Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Denen Aondoakaa, was also instructed by the Assembly to immediately stop releasing monies to the board.
Adagba was accused of refusing to testify before an ad hoc committee established by the House to look into alleged criminal actions within SUBEB, according to the motion, which was made by Hon. Bemdoo Ipusu.
In order to prevent the House from carrying out its constitutional oversight duties, Ipusu told the House that the chairman had prepared a letter rejecting the legislature’s right to look into contracts that the board awarded.
Citing multiple run-ins with the House, lawmakers who participated in the debate unanimously supported Dr. Adagba’s suspension and voiced their strong disapproval of her behavior.
It was learned that the SUBEB chairman and the Benue State Assembly had already clashed three times.
The absence of Dr. Adagba from an ad hoc committee meeting looking into SUBEB’s operations was the reason given in the motion, which was supported by Hon. Bemdoo Ipusu.
Political watchdogs point out that the action coincides with escalating disputes between the executive and legislature regarding the hiring of teachers.
Though the Daily Independent was unable to fully confirm these accusations, some media speculate that the conflict may be connected to larger political scheming in the state.
Nonetheless, the resolution to suspend Adagba is thought to have deviated from the standard legislative procedure.
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According to a video of the House plenary where the Ad Hoc Committee on State-Wide Contract Verification was established independently, which our correspondent was able to obtain, SUBEB was not initially on the list of agencies that would be investigated. This led observers to speculate that the call for her suspension might have been made for political reasons.
A committee member who spoke to our correspondent anonymously attested to this. Even SUBEB was not included in our original scope. During our meeting on Tuesday, August 5, the matter of her suspension unexpectedly came up,” the source stated.
The Assembly halted a state-wide teacher recruiting program run by SUBEB earlier this year, according to the Daily Independent, which claims that this is when the disagreement started.
When contract awards under projects supported by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) became contentious, sources said tensions increased. It was stated that certain MPs sought to influence the contracts, but Adagba insisted on due process and rejected.
In a letter to the Assembly committee on August 4, Adagba allegedly stated that she was prepared to appear before it if she had at least 30 days to compile her documentation.
The House did, however, pass the measure suspending her the very following day.
Benue’s relationship with UBEC and other donor organizations, which frequently tie financing to openness and rule compliance, may suffer as a result of the crisis, according to observers.
