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YENAGOA, BAYELSA STATE — The Bayelsa State House of Assembly has come under scrutiny over its decision to summon the Executive Chairman of Sagbama Local Government Council, Hon. Alice Tangi Allen, to appear before it on Tuesday, August 18, despite a subsisting order of the Bayelsa State High Court directing parties in a pending suit to maintain the status quo.
The development has heightened political and legal tensions in the state, coming just two days before the court is scheduled to hear an application filed by the council chairman challenging moves against her tenure.
Justice D.E. Adokeme, sitting as a vacation judge at the Yenagoa Judicial Division of the Bayelsa State High Court, had on August 10, 2026, granted an ex parte application brought by Allen and ordered all parties to “maintain the status quo, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed contemporaneously with this application.”
The order was issued in a suit instituted by Allen against the Government of Bayelsa State, the Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, the Sagbama Legislative Council, the Leader of the Legislative Council and the Attorney-General of the state, among other defendants.
According to the information made available, the defendants have been served with the relevant court orders and processes, including those served through substituted means via the office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.
Despite the subsisting order, the State Assembly has fixed August 18 for Allen to appear before it, while the court proceedings are scheduled for August 20.
The timing of the summons has therefore triggered questions over whether the legislative action could amount to an attempt to pre-empt or circumvent the judicial process.
The controversy reportedly centres on allegations against Allen relating to the administration of Sagbama Local Government funds, including claims that certain expenditures were incurred without the required approvals and that she had yet to submit the council’s budget for the year.
There have also been allegations, which her supporters have described as unfounded, that council funds were used to finance activities of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
Allen is known to have longstanding political ties with NDC National Leader, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson. However, she has remained a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the platform on which she was elected chairman, and has reportedly declined to join the NDC.
Political observers in the state have consequently linked the unfolding crisis to the broader political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Some believe that Allen’s refusal to align with Governor Douye Diri and his political associates in their reported movement towards the All Progressives Congress (APC) may have contributed to the pressure being mounted against her.
The allegation, however, remains a political interpretation and has not been established as the official reason for the Assembly’s action.
In a letter dated August 17, 2026, Allen’s counsel, Chief Michael Jonathan Numa, SAN, urged the Bayelsa State House of Assembly to suspend the summons pending the determination of the court proceedings.
Numa made it clear that his client’s position was not based on a challenge to the constitutional or statutory powers of the Assembly to summon her.
Rather, he argued that appearing before the House while the court’s order remained in force could expose his client to the risk of disobeying the judicial directive.
“We therefore respectfully urge the Honourable House to be pleased to stand down the invitation of 18 August 2026 and to stay further steps on this subject matter pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice fixed for 20 August 2026 and thereafter, the substantive suit,” the senior lawyer stated.
He added that Allen remained prepared to appear before the Assembly once the court had determined the pending applications.
“Our client undertakes without reservation to appear before the Honourable House upon being duly invited, once the court has pronounced on the pending applications, and she remains willing at any time to attend on any matter falling outside the subject matter of the suit,” Numa stated.
The lawyer’s letter was reportedly served on the Assembly on August 17 and copied to the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, with a certified true copy of the August 10 High Court order attached.
Other documents accompanying the letter reportedly included the writ of summons and other originating court processes.
The legal dispute has consequently placed the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and the Sagbama council chairman at the centre of an escalating institutional confrontation, with the judiciary now expected to determine the immediate legal status of the issues before the parties.
Allen is also reportedly outside Bayelsa State for medical reasons, further complicating the prospect of her personal appearance before the Assembly on Tuesday.
With the court hearing fixed for August 20, attention is now focused on whether the Assembly will proceed with its summons or heed the request by Allen’s counsel to await the outcome of the judicial proceedings.
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