Why Taraba Assembly speaker resigned

The Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly, Joseph Kunini, has resigned his position.

Mr Kunini’s resignation letter was read at the plenary on Wednesday by the deputy speaker, Hamman Adama.

No reason was given for the resignation.

The 24-member assembly unanimously nominated Kizito Bonzina, a member representing the Zing Local Government Area, as the new speaker.

Mr Kunini, a professor, was elected speaker in 2019 following the resignation of the then speaker, Abel Peter, who had disagreements with the state governor, Darius Ishaku, on several occasions.

Mr Kunini too has been having disagreements with the governor over the non-payment of seven years outstanding allowances of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) Taraba State chapter.

The embattled speaker was fingered by the executive arm of the government for the face-off by the members of the PASAN and the Taraba government.