On Tuesday, November 26, the House of Representatives joined the Senate in agreeing to remove Danladi Umar, the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), after a motion was raised by Majority Leader Julius Ihonvbere.
Ihonvbere’s motion called for the invocation of Section 17(3) of the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, citing several actions by Umar, including a public altercation with a security guard at the Banex Plaza Shopping Complex in Abuja. The motion stated that after admitting to the brawl during a Senate Committee hearing, Umar had refused to attend further meetings, which hindered the investigation into his conduct.
Ihonvbere argued that removing Umar was necessary to protect the integrity of the Code of Conduct Tribunal and uphold the rule of law and corporate governance standards in Nigeria.
Following the motion, Mansur Soro raised a constitutional concern, arguing that the House was not following the correct procedure, as President Bola Tinubu should have formally requested Umar’s removal. However, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas ruled Soro out of order.
When the motion was put to a vote, the majority voted in favor of Umar’s removal, aligning with the Senate’s earlier decision. The Senate had initially made an error by referencing Section 157 of the Constitution instead of Section 17(3), but later corrected the mistake to finalize Umar’s removal.
