…Blast DG For Contempt of Parliament

The House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Library, Research and Documentation may recommend punitive measures against the Director General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, for allegedly participating in the 2026 All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial primaries in Kwara State without resigning his appointment.

The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Yusuf Galambi, gave this indication at the investigation on the “Need to preserve the political neutrality of public institutions and ensure compliance with constitutional, administrative requirements and all other relevant rules governing the participation of public office holders in electoral contests,” at the National Assembly.

The committee also accused the director general of disrespecting the parliament by consistently shunning their invitations for investigation.

The lawmaker lamented that despite inviting the embattled director general on three different occasions, he refused to honour the committee’s invitations to defend himself.

Galambi declared that his committee may be compelled to write its report and make recommendations against the director general since he has refused to come and defend himself.

“We invited the DG of NILDS to appear before this honourable committee on the 18th of June; he refused to come; we gave him a second chance on the 24th of July; he did not honour the invitation, and today, 4th of August, he did not show up. Meanwhile, the petitioners are always here, waiting to prove the allegations against him.

“Our committee believes that if allegations are levelled against someone and he is given an opportunity to defend himself, and he refuses, it means he has something to hide.

“So, in our resolution today, in his refusal to appear before the committee, the committee has resolved that the allegations against him stand. We are going to write our recommendations to the House, and the allegations stand”, the chairman stated.

He added, Galambi insisted that “You can’t eat your cake and have it. You can’t contest and refuse to resign as required by law. As far as the committee is concerned, pending the approval of the House, the allegations stand.”

Asked if the committee would give him another chance should he decide to come, Hon. Galambi replied, “If he decides to come and defend himself before we write our report and recommendations, we will allow him”.

Earlier, the chairman in his welcome remarks highlighted the aim of the investigation. He informed that the House had on June 4, 2026 deliberated and referred a petition against the NILDS Director-General, Prof. Sulaiman, alleging “Use of government facilities, vehicles and personnel for partisan activities; failure of public office holders to resign or take leave as required before engaging in political campaigns”.

He said the objective of the investigation was therefore, “To ascertain the extent of compliance with constitutional and administrative requirements by public office holders seeking elective office; to examine the measures put in place by MDAs and the Head of Service to preserve political neutrality in public institutions and to recommend legislative, administrative and prosecutorial actions to deter future violations and restore institutional integrity”.

He, however, warned, “Let me state this clearly. The National Assembly does not begrudge any public officer their constitutional right to aspire. Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, guarantees that right. But that right must be exercised within the law. You cannot serve two masters. You cannot be a regulator in the morning and a campaigner in the afternoon using state resources”.

Galambi emphasised that “The Code of Conduct for Public Officers, 5th Schedule, Section 7(1) prohibits public officers from placing themselves in a position of conflict between personal interest and public duty.

The Public Service Rules, specifically Rule 030422, and the Electoral Act 2026, Section 88(1), provide that a political appointee at any level shall not be a voting delegate or be voted for at the convention, congress and primaries of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election. Section 84 (12) sets clear administrative and legal timelines for resignation or disengagement of public officers aspiring to elective offices. These sections have set a clear administrative and legal timeline for resignation or disengagement of public officers aspiring to elective offices.

It will be recalled that the House deliberated on a petition against the Director-General for allegedly participating in the just-concluded APC governorship primaries while still serving as DG of NILDS.

The petition was thereafter referred to the Committee on Legislative Library, Research and Documentation to investigate and report back. Since then, the petitioners have appeared before the committee, while Prof Sulaiman has refused to honour the committee’s invitations.

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