Plateau Assembly Speaker Resigns - Deputy Impeached

The Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, John Clark Dabwan, has resigned his position, prompting the House to adopt the member representing Bokkos Constituency, Titus Alams as the new Speaker.

The House also impeached the Deputy Speaker, John Bull Shekarau and replaced him with the member representing Langtang South Constituency, Joyce Radnap.


In a letter signed by 16 out of 24 members of the House and read on the floor by the Minority Leader, Wokdung Abbas representing Dengi constituency, Shekarau was said to have been impeached due to what the members described as his arrogance.

Dabwan read his resignation letter yesterday on the floor of the Assembly, saying that although it was painful, he took the action to avoid another round of crisis in the state.

The former Speaker, however, added that he did his best not to disappoint his colleagues during his tenure.
He said: "Plateau State has witnessed so many crises and we cannot continue to inflame it.

 That is the basis on which I am resigning. I held the House (position) with integrity, honesty and fear of God. I painfully took this decision in the interest of peace and I wish all of us well.

"I have done my best for the people of Plateau, played my part with the wonderful support and co-operation from the House. We shall continue to work as a family."

He urged members of the House to give maximum support to his successor.

Alams pledged to give quality leadership to the House, saying that "with the issues of constitutional review, national dialogue and insecurity our government deserves good legislation."