SSG Swearing-In: Adamawa PDP Chieftains, Lawmakers In Near Fisticuffs

Mohammed Ismail

           

There was confusion at the Council Chambers of Government House, Yola, over the sitting arrangement during the swearing-in of the newly appointed secretary to the state government, Professor Abdullahi Liman Tukur, by acting governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.
Government House protocol officials had a hectic time trying to calm a fracas that ensued between PDP executive members and state lawmakers over who should be given preference in the sitting arrangement, as the PDP executives who were the first to enter the hall refused to leave the seats for the lawmakers.
The development led to serious altercation as the legislators and the PDP executive started trading abusive words, claiming superiority in the fight that ousted Murtala Nyako’s government and led to the emergence of Ahmadu Fintiri as acting governor.
The confusion delayed the swearing-in ceremony for close to an hour as the protocol officials were left helpless, even as the two groups continued to exchange abusive words.
The intervention of top security personnel and other government officials prevented the situation from degenerating into fisticuffs.
Local government chairmen, who were put in one obscure corner for the ceremony, equally complained that they were not properly accorded their rightful positions in the scheme of things.
But the chairmen were told in clear terms that they did not deserve any recognition, as they were accused of serving the previous regime.
Meanwhile, the majority leader of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Ishaq Bala, has been removed. Ishaq, who is a member representing Yola North constituency, was removed for not supporting the impeachment of Nyako.
Hon. Ishaq Bala was accordingly replaced by Salishu Kabilo from Verre constituency as the new majority leader of the House.

Acting governor scraps SPPU, dissolve Nyako’s cabinet
The acting governor of Adamawa State Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has ordered the scrapping of the Special Projects and Programmes Unit (SPPU) under Government House.
The decision of the state government was contained in a press release signed by Solomon Kumangar, director, press and public affairs, Government House, Yola.
The acting governor directed the head of service to retrieve all government property in the custody of the unit immediately.
According to the acting governor, SPPU, an ad-hoc body, has been a subject of controversy since its establishment because it is contrary to the law and civil service procedures.
The acting governor has also dissolved the cabinet of the former governor Nyako.
The government has also sacked all the political appointees of the previous administration.
The position was made through a press statement signed by the secretary to the state government, Prof. Abdullahi Liman Tukur.
The statement said that following the resignation of the deputy governor and the impeachment of former governor Nyako by the state assembly all political appointees (commissioners, special advisers, principal assistants and special assistants) were hereby relieved of their appointments as directed by the acting governor.
The statement directed the dismissed government functionaries to hand over all government property in their custody to their respective permanent secretaries and other appropriate officers within government establishment.
Meanwhile, the sacked Nyako commissioners yesterday paid a courtesy visit to the acting governor, pledging their loyalty.

APC Adamawa ready for fresh election but…- BD Lawal
Despite its determination to challenge the impeachment of Admiral Murtala Nyako, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is ready to participate in a fresh election to be held within the next 90 days as prescribed by the constitution.
This position was made known yesterday by the national vice chairman, north east of the party, Engineer Babachir David Lawal, in a press conference where the party spared no word in condemning the impeachment.
Said he: “The constitution directs that elections be held within 90 days from the date of impeachment; so, while we are preparing to challenge the impeachment in the courts, the party is also preparing for an early election.
“The national leadership of our great party has assured us that they will assist us in the process of selecting and presenting a very fearless, honest, people-focused and credible candidate for the elections. In our choice of the best candidate, we should not dwell much on tribe, religion or sect. Let us leave such to the PDP, which is a well- known apostle of tribal, religious and divisive politics. We should rather dwell on demonstrated competence, honesty, integrity and ability to unite our people, qualities we have in abundance in the state chapter of the APC.”
Speaking further, he said: “The good people of Adamawa State, great and exciting times lie ahead of us. So, let us be energized and mobilized! It is trite law that thieves always fight over the sharing of spoils of thievery, leading to their self-destruction. So, we will soon be entertained as we watch the PDP implode, scatter and self-destruct over who their own candidate will be! Those who thought they will shame and destabilize us have only won a pyrrhic victory. In this forthcoming election, we are the front runners because a just war is on our side.”
On the impeachment, the party gave an assurance to its members that its redress in the court would return Nyako to the office and expose those who sponsored the removal and why.
“We wish to assure the good people of Adamawa State that we will challenge this illegality in the courts on behalf of the party and the good people of the state. And we are certain in our belief that this illegality will be reversed, the true motives of the perpetrators exposed, and our legitimate governor returned to his post as soon as possible.”
The party noted that President Goodluck Jonathan who was supposed to defend the constitution of the country is the one presiding over its desecration.
“We are at a loss as to how the president can condone and even assist such brazen disregard of due process, rule of law and blatant violation of the nation’s constitution which all the dramatis personae have sworn to uphold.
“In this illegal impeachment of a duly elected governor, these 19 members of the Adamawa State House of Assembly have renounced all claims to being true representatives of the people and have, instead, surrendered their mandates to the forces of unbridled ambition and greed. Theirs is truly a demonstration of mercantilism and inordinate, senseless ambition in politics.”
According to him, with the impeachment of Nyako as governor, “Abuja will now unfreeze the frozen state accounts so our new self-appointed rulers can have access to the state’s finances complete with the authority to freely loot and share out to themselves and cronies at will.”
Leadership

Nasarawa Impeachment Plot: 3 Killed As Protest Turns Bloody In Lafia

Achor Abimaje, Donatus Nadi

           

Three people died while one person was wounded yesterday during clashes between Gwandara and Eggon youths who were protesting over the commencement of impeachment proceedings against Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State.
LEADERSHIP FRIDAY gathered that some armed Gwandara youths stormed the house of an Eggon man around Old Alamis Market and set it ablaze along with his car. Many governorship posters of information minister Labaran Maku were said to have been pasted on the walls of the house.
The state police public relations officer, Ismaila Numan, confirmed the development, saying the house was burnt in the early hours of yesterday but he could not confirm who was responsible.
Investigations revealed, however, that the impeachment notice served on the governor by the state lawmakers did not go down well with the Gwandara youths who resorted to violent protests to register their anger over the attempt to impeach their kinsman to pave way for an Eggon man.
LEADERSHIP FRIDAY saw one of the warring youths with a deep machete cut in the upper arm as he was being taken to a hospital for medication.
The Gwandara are said to be accusing the Eggon elite of being behind the woes of the governor, leading to the impeachment process by the state legislators.
Maku, the information minister, is of the Eggon extraction whereas Governor Al-Makura is of Gwandara ethnic stock; the latter are considered one of the smallest ethnic nationalities in the state.
When our correspondent visited the scene of the violence, burnt-down commercial tricycles littered the area even as shops and other business premises hurriedly closed for fear of being vandalized.
Meanwhile the protesters visited the Emir of Lafia, Alhaji Isa Mustapha Agwai I, in his palace to register their disapproval of the impeachment move by the state assembly.
In the same vein, the Nasarawa State first lady Hajiya Salamatu Al-Makura has called on the people of the state to remain calm as various women groups took to the streets on Thursday to protest the impeachment notice served on the governor.
Mrs Al-Makura, while addressing the protesters at the government house in Lafia, urged them to be very prayerful and not take laws into their hands.
She expressed optimism that the governor would overcome the impeachment saga and return to continue with his developmental agenda.
“I would like to urge you all to intensify your prayers for God to take charge of the situation as nothing is beyond him to handle,” Al-Makura said.
She commended the women for the show of love and support to the governor and promised to deliver their message to him.
She observed that the lawmakers ought to have consulted with their constituents before taking the decision to impeach the governor.
Earlier, Hajiya Hajara Danyaro, convener of the protest, said the impeachment move by the state assembly was calculated to destabilize the state.
She maintained that, as mothers, they chose not to remain quiet owing to the fact that, in the event of crisis, women and children suffer more casualties.
According to Danyaro, the allegation of gross misconduct levelled against the governor was unfounded and malicious.
“We are saying no to impeachment of the people’s governor because, as far as we are concerned, Al-Makura is the best governor Nasarawa has ever had,” Danyaro added.
LEADERSHIP FRIDAY investigation revealed that the Nasarawa State House of Assembly had on Monday sat for only 15 minutes and passed a resolution for impeachment notice against Al-Makura.
The Assembly further directed its Clerk to serve the governor, saying that if he was unable to serve him with the notice, he should proceed to serve him through the media.
The Assembly thereafter proceeded on recess.
 
Presidency behind my travails – Gov. Al-Makura
Governor Umoru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has attributed his present travails to the Presidency.
The governor made the disclosure through his senior special assistant on public affairs, Abdulhamid Yakubu Kwarra, while fielding questions from journalists in Jos, the Plateau State capital, yesterday.
According to him, this development is meant to destabilize APC-controlled states in the country.
Kwarra said: “They are threatened by the monumental achievements of the APC administration in Nasarawa State; there is no administration that is as corrupt as the present PDP-led government in the country.
“Authorities in Abuja should stop the bull from entering a china shop. They are opening a new war front; they should address the issue of the insecurity and Chibok girls instead of chasing shadows in the country.”
He further stressed that they were exploring all the options available to them, pointing out that a situation where members of the State House of Assembly exercise their power without decorum will be highly resisted.

Presidency keeps mum
Efforts to get official response on the allegation from the presidential spokesperson, Dr. Reuben Abati, proved abortive as he failed to respond to several calls and text messages made to his phone as at press time.
 Leadership

Lawrence Onoja To Succeed Chidoka As FRSC Boss

Ekele Peter Agbo

           

Former principal general staff officer to late head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha, Maj. General Lawrence Onojahas been tipped to succeed the corps marshal of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr Osita Chidoka, who has been appointed as minister.
A source close to the Presidency told LEADERSHIP in Abuja yesterday that the federal government had decided to appoint Maj. Gen. Lawrence Onoja to replace Chidoka based on his robust military antecedent which the FRSC would need in the face of the insecurity in the country.
With the confirmation of Osita Chidoka as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the battle line were drwan among the contenders over who becomes the next FRSC’s helmsman.
If Onoja succeeds the current FRSC boss eventually, he will have beaten eight deputy corps marshals (DCM) who see themselves as ‘insiders’ that must be favoured over an ‘outsider,’ Onoja.
The contenders are, Lawrence Onoja; Yemi Oyeyemi; Adeyi Abu; Demola Lawal; Ojeme Ewurujakpor; Chidi Nwachukwu; Danjuma Garba; AK Hassan and Yemi Omidiji.
It would be recalled that right from the onset, the Corps Marshal of the FRSC has always been drafted from pool of experience outside the commission, of which Osita is a beneficiary.
Leadership

Nigerians declare war on President Jonathan’s image consultant, Levick

      

Nicholas Ibekwe

President Goodluck Jonathan

Nigerians on Thursday launched an aggressive social media war against Levick, the Washington-based public relations and lobby firm hired by President Goodluck Jonathan to help rev up his plummeting public approval rating following what local and international observers consider his administration’s inept handling of the abduction of over 250 schoolgirls by the extremist Boko Haram sect.
The social media campaign, which trended on Twitter for most of Thursday, was triggered by a statement by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, attacking the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners and blaming them for the refusal of the parents of the abducted girls to meet with the president on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, political forces within the Nigerian chapter of Bring Back Our Girls have decided to take this opportunity to play politics with the situation and the grief of the parents and the girls,” the statement said. “They should be ashamed of their actions.”
The statement also referred to the campaigners as engaging in  “psychological terrorism”.
Levick did not sign the statement, and it remains unclear how Nigerians concluded that the public relations firm was the unseen hands behind Mr. Okupe’s vituperation.
But before long, the social media was soon flooded with scathing messages directed at both the Nigerian government and Levick.
According to social media analytic site, Topsy, #someoneTellLEVICK, the hashtag generated for the campaign, was used more than 3,600 times as 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and it trended in the country.
Using that hashtag, a series of biting remarks were directed at the PR firm, which was recently hired by the Nigerian presidency for $1.2 million to help shape the administration’s messages concerning the Chibok girls abduction.
“L-E-V-I-C-K: Leveraging Every Propaganda Vehicle To Intimidate Nigerians Regarding The Chibok Kidnap #Someonetelllevick,” said journalist, Tolu Ogunlesi, through his handle @toluogunlesi.
“#someoneTellLEVICK investors, go and sell your shares. You will have a PR company in need of world class PR by the time we are done!,” blogger Japheth Omojuwa tweeted.
Social commentator, Seun Fakuade, weighed in: “It’s easy for any “rented” foreign organization to discredit and malign Nigerians. The govt does same. @LEVICK #SomeoneTellLevick.”
“#someoneTellLEVICK they are contributing to poverty and violence in Nigeria and further jeopardizing the effort to #BringBackOurGirls,” opined Ayo Adegbulu via his handle @ayoadegbulu.
A former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, had condemned Mr Jonathan administration’s attempt to smear the image of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign through Levick.
Mrs. Ezekwesili, who is also one of the leaders of the campaign, tweeted through her handle, @obyezeks, that it was hateful of the presidency to hire the PR firm to help it tag Nigerians as terrorists.
“It’s to SUCH HATE? That our Presidency deployed our public resources to hire US firm @LEVICK to label INNOCENT CITIZENS “terrorists”??” she said.
President Jonathan approved Levick’s hiring in June to help the administration counter widespread criticism over its inept handling of the kidnap of the schoolgirls.
According to the contract papers, first made public by Washington-based newspaper, The Hill, the public relations firm is to help change “international and local media narrative” surrounding the Nigerian government’s efforts to rescue the girls, now in captivity for over three months.
Levick, which likes to describe itself as a leading strategic communications firm that establishes and protects trust, began work in late June, helping Mr. Jonathan plant an opinion article in the Washington Post through which the president assured the international community of his effort at rescuing the girls.
“My heart aches for the missing children and their families. I am a parent myself, and I know how awfully this must hurt. Nothing is more important to me than finding and rescuing our girls,” Mr. Jonathan wrote in the 504-word article.
The Federal Government has come under severe criticism from local and international media for its lethargic handling of the abduction, prompting the presidency and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to accuse the opposition of sponsoring a media campaign to discredit the government.
PremiumTimes

Meeting with Chibok parents: Jonathan embarrassed Nigeria – APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as a compound embarrassment the fact that it took 17-year-old girl-child education campaigner, Pakistani Malala Yousafzai, to visit and convince President Goodluck Jonathan to agree to a meeting with representatives of the parents of the kidnapped school girls.
”President Jonathan, who has already embarrassed himself and the entire people of Nigeria by his inexplicable failure to visit Chibok since the girls were abducted over 90 days ago, has compounded the embarrassment and insulted Nigerians by waiting for Malala to goad him to meet with the girls’ parents, not in Chibok but in Abuja,” the party said in a statement in Lagos, Thursday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
It said after the meeting failed, because the parents were not properly informed and invited, a shameless presidency turned around to blame the opposition and the patriotic and selfless Nigerians who have been campaigning daily, under the #Bringbackourgirls group.
”Fortunately, and to the eternal discomfiture of the presidency, the Chibok community has said the decision not to meet with President Jonathan in Abuja was theirs and theirs alone, and that they took that decision because their sole reason for coming to Abuja was to meet with Malala, and not the President who did not invite them anyway.

Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai (L) watches on July 14, 2014 Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan look at a book at the State House in Abuja. Malala on July 14 urged Jonathan to meet with parents of the schoolgirls kidnapped three months ago by Boko Haram. Malala, who survived a Taliban assassination attempt in 2012 and has become a champion for access to schooling, was in Abuja on her 17th birthday to mark the somber anniversary of Boko Haram’s April 14 abduction of 276 girls from a secondary school in the northeast Nigerian city of Chibok.
AFP PHOTO

”With this explanation, one would have expected a presidency that has regard for the truth to immediately retract its earlier panic statement, which it issued to save face after what was nothing but a PR gimmick blew up in their face, and apologize to the opposition and the #Bringbackourgirls group that were unjustly pilloried by them.
”Instead, the presidency has persisted in its distortion of the truth, for which they have now become infamous, even as a new date has been agreed for the meeting. This is unfortunate, condemnable and irresponsible,” APC said. ”If indeed, as the presidency claimed earlier, that the opposition was behind the earlier refusal by the parents and escaped girls not to see the President, what has then happened to make them change their minds? Has the opposition now asked them to meet with the President?”
The party alerted Nigerians that the reason President Jonathan, whose wife bullied and harangued the girls’ parents on the grounds that they were lying and that no girl was missing, agreed to meet with the parents is so that he could use the meeting as a photo-op, after Malala pushed for it and the President’s US-based image laundering firm acceded to it.
”Mr. President, your frantic effort to meet with the Chibok parents now is too little too late, and no amount of photo-op will change that. If your handlers had been sincere, Mr. President, they would have told you that the best venue of the meeting is Chibok, not Abuja where your people tried, but failed, to waylay the parents who came for a meeting with Malala.
”Mr. President, you have ceaselessly compared yourself to the great leaders of our time, including US President Barack Obama. But do you think Obama would have refused to visit the parents of these abducted school girls if the abduction had occurred in the US? Do you think Obama, as Commander-in-Chief, would have refused to visit his troops in the front line of the anti-terror fight as you have done?

Malala and Five Escaped Chibok Girls

”Do you think, Mr. President, that a band of rogue elements like Boko Haram would have restricted Obama’s movement within his own country as they have done to you? No true and caring President will ever fail to visit the sites of disasters and offer solace to his compatriots,” it said.
APC reminded President Jonathan that neither in Nigeria’s culture nor in any other culture are those hit by tragedy invited to be offered solace, adding that the practice is to visit those to be offered solace ‘in situ’.
The party reiterated its earlier call on the President to shake off his lethargy and bring the abducted school girls home safely, instead of playing politics with the lives of over 200 human beings.
Vanguard

WHY THE IMPEACHMENT OF MURTALA HAMMAN YERO NYAKO CANNOT STAND

Okoi Obono-obla

 The gales of impeachment of State Governors in the country have started in earnest with the impeachment of the Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Hamman Yero Nyako on Tuesday the 16th July, 2014, by the Adamawa State House of Assembly. The Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Ahmadu Fintiri was quickly sworn in as the Acting Governor of Adamawa State after the Deputy Governor, Bala James Ngilari, purportedly submitted his ‘Letter of Resignation’ to the Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly shortly before the resolution of the House was passed.

The Resolution impeaching Governor Nyako was passed after the adoption of the Report of the Panel constituted by the Acting Chief Judge of Adamawa State to investigate allegations levelled against Murtala Nyako and Deputy Governor, Bala James Ngilari, in the Notice of Impeachment that was never served on him in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
Soon after Murtala Nyako was impeached, it was reported that the Nassarawa State House of Assembly has resolved to serve a Notice of Impeachment on the Governor of Nassarawa State, Umaru Tanko El-Makura, on allegations bordering on breaching the Constitution. There is rumour swirling that there are moves to impeach the Governors of Edo and Rivers States.
It seems that impeachment of Governors in the opposition is the new found weapon by the Peoples Democratic Party with the strong backing of the Presidency to bring the opposition down to its knees in anticipation of the 2015 General Election!
Impeachment of a Governor of a State is provided by Section 188 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (supra). It is pertinent to reproduce Section 188 of the Constitution for the purpose of clarity and emphasise thus:
“The Governor or Deputy Governor of a State may be removed from office in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(2) Whenever a notice of any allegation in writing signed by not less than one-third of the members of the House of Assembly -
(a) is presented to the Speaker of the House of Assembly of the State;
(b) stating that the holder of such office is guilty of gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office, detailed particulars of which shall be specified, the Speaker of the House of Assembly shall, within seven days of the receipt of the notice, cause a copy of the notice to be served on the holder of the office and on each member of the House of Assembly, and shall also cause any statement made in reply to the allegation by the holder of the office, to be served on each member of the House of Assembly.
(3) Within fourteen days of the presentation of the notice to the Speaker of the House of Assembly (whether or not any statement was made by the holder of the office in reply to the allegation contained in the notice), the House of Assembly shall resolve by motion, without any debate whether or not the allega_tion shall be investigated.
(4) A motion of the House of Assembly that the allegation be investigated shall not be declared as having been passed unless it is supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of all the members of the House of Assembly.
(5) Within seven days of the passing of a motion under the foregoing provisions of this section, the Chief Judge of the State shall at the request of the Speaker of the House of Assembly, appoint a Panel of seven persons who in his opinion are of unquestionable integrity, not being members of any public service, legislative house or political party, to investigate the allegation as provided in this section.
(6) The holder of an office whose conduct is being investigated under this section shall have the right to defend himself in person or be represented before the Panel by a Legal Practitioner of his own choice.
(7) A Panel appointed under this section shall -
(a) have such powers and exercise its functions in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly; and
(b) within three months of its appointment, report its findings to the House of Assembly.
(8) Where the report of the Panel is that the allegation of House of Assembly has not been proved, no further proceedings shall be taken in respect of the matter.
(9) Where the report of the Panel is that the allegation against the holder of the office has been proved, then within fourteen days of the receipt of the report, the House of Assembly shall consider the report, and if by a resolution of the House of Assembly supported by not less than two-thirds the report of the Panel is adopted, then the holder of the office shall stand removed from office as from the date of the adoption of the report.
(10) No proceedings or determination of the panel or of the House of Assembly or any matter relating to such proceedings or determination shall be entertained or questioned in any Court.
(11) In this section -
"gross misconduct" means a grave violation or breach of the provisions of this Constitu_tion or a misconduct of such nature as amounts in the opinion in the House of Assembly to gross misconduct”.
Ordinarily the Judiciary is not entitled to interfere with the internal business of the legislature by virtue of the principles of separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution. Each branch of government is required to restrict itself to its sphere of authority or jurisdiction assigned to it in the Constitution. This is why Section 188 (10) of the Constitution boldly ousts the jurisdiction of the Court to interfere with impeachment proceedings initiated by a House of Assembly against a Governor.
However, if the procedure lay down by Section 188 of the Constitution is not strictly adhered to by the House of Assembly in carrying out the impeachment of the Governor; the Court can question such proceedings despite the fact that the jurisdiction of the Court has been ousted in anything relating to the impeachment of a Governor.
So it follows that the House of Assembly in carrying out its power must ensure that the procedure outlined in Section 188 of the Constitution is followed procedurally and to the letter.
In the case of Murtala Nyako, after the Adamawa State House of Assembly resolved that a Notice of Impeachment be served on Murtala Nyako, service of the Notice on Murtala Nyako became difficult. It was clear that Murtala Nyako elected to evade service. He quickly dashed out of Yola for Abuja. The gate of the Government House, Yola was locked. As a result service of the Notice on Murtala Nyako was frustrated.
The Adamawa State House of Assembly decided to file a Motion in the High Court, Yola, seeking for leave to serve the Notice of Impeachment on Murtala Nyako by substituted method by way of placement of advertisement in the newspaper. However, the Adamawa House of Assembly ran into a brick wall, after the High Court refused the Motion and dismissed it.
It is worthy to note that the House of Assembly did not file an appeal against the Order of the High Court dismissing its Motion for substituted service of the Notice of Impeachment on Murtala Nyako.
Despite the fact that the High Court had dismissed the Motion for substituted service of the Notice on Murtala Nyako, the Adamawa State House of Assembly resolved to direct the Clerk of the Assembly to advertise the Notice in the newspaper without leave of the Court.
Since there was no proper service of the Notice of Impeachment on Murtala Nyako he elected to ignore the Notice published in some newspapers in the Country. Murtala Nyako did not answer any of the sundry allegations contained in the Notice made against him.
The House of Assembly in reaction to the failure of Murtala Nyako to reply to the Notice of Impeachment met and passed a Resolution directing the Acting Chief Judge of Adamawa State to constitute a Panel of Seven eminent people of proven integrity to investigate the allegations contained in the Notice of Impeachment.
After some spirited efforts to prevent the Acting Chief Judge were brushed aside, the Panel was constituted. The Panel issued summons on Murtala Nyako and the Deputy Governor, Bala Ngilari, to appear before it. However both, Murtala Nyako and Deputy Governor, Ngilari, ignored the Panel and refused to appear before it to answer to the allegations against them.
The Panel expeditious concluded its assignment and submitted a Report to the House of Assembly. On the 16th July, 2014, the House of Assembly met amidst heavy presence of Armed Policemen and Soldiers and resolved to impeach Murtala Nyako.
It was purported that the Deputy Governor, Ngilari, submitted his Letter of Resignation to the Speaker of the House of Assembly shortly before the Resolution removing Nyako was passed.
From the above, it is clear that the impeachment of Murtala Nyako is tainted with glaring and apparent breaches of the procedure laid down in Section 188 (1) of the Constitution. In the first place, Murtala Nyako was not heard before he was impeached. The Notice of Impeachment was not properly served.
It is clear that Section 188 (2) (b) of the Constitution envisages that the Governor must be served with the Notice of Impeachment personally.
The purported advertisement of the Notice in the media by the Clerk of the House of Assembly without leave of the Court is invalid and of no consequence.
In the instance case Murtala Nyako was not personally served with the Notice.
The essence of service of the Notice is that the Governor whose conduct is being questioned must be given a fair hearing. He must be afforded the opportunity of being heard in compliance with the provisions of Section 36 of the Constitution that guaranteed the right of fair hearing.
The right of fair hearing is sacrosanct and inviolable. Anything done in violation of the right of fair hearing cannot stand. It is invalid and liable to be set aside.
Even God gave Adam a fair hearing despite the overwhelming evidence that Adam ate the fruit from the forbidden tree. God asked: “Adam where art thou?” and when Adam replied that he hid himself because he was naked, God further asked: “Who told thee that thou wast naked? Has thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” Genesis 3: 9 - 11
Murtala Nyako was on the right side of the law when he refused to honour the advert of the Notice placed in the media.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria in performance of its constitutionally assigned role of being the bulwark against the abuse of civil rights and contravention of due process had set aside the impeachment of three Governors since the inception of democratic civil rule in the Country, Which is a precedent to the fact that any impeachment of a Governor, in contravention with the procedure spelt out by Section 188 of the Constitution (as amended) will be set aside, if challenged.
One would have thought that the Adamawa State House of Assembly would be guided by the judgments of the Supreme Court in these three cases.
In DAPIANLONG V DARIYE (2007) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1036) 289, the Supreme Court set aside the impeachment of the then Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Chibi Dariye on the ground that Section 188 (4) of the Constitution that stipulates that a motion of the House of Assembly that the allegation be investigated shall not be declared as having been passed unless it is supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of all the members of the House of Assembly was not followed. Only 8 members of the Plateau State House of Assembly carried out the impeachment instead of 16 out of the 24 members in the House.
The Supreme Court admonished that despite the grave and despicable allegations levelled against Joshua Dariye due process must be followed. Pius Olayiwole Aderemi, JSC (as he then was) illuminated thus:
“I shall end this discourse by saying that the allegations levelled against the 1st respondent as contained in the records, are despicable to the highest degree. If proved in accordance with the laws, of our land; by the cardinal principle of morality, justice and democratic government that an offender guilty of crime should be sentenced by the court to such penalty as his crime merits, the lst respondent must not be allowed to run away from justice. But before this can be done, due process of law must be followed from the beginning to the end. An act may be morally reprehensible unless there is a law properly enacted which makes that act punishable and goes ahead to prescribe the punishment for it, a judge, indeed, any court of law is hamstrung to sentence and punish the perpetrator”.
Again in Hon. Muyiwa Inakolu vs. Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja (SC.272/2006) decided by the Supreme Court on the 12th January 2007, the impeachment of then Governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja by the Oyo State House of Assembly was set aside by the Supreme Court because On 22nd December, 2005, without following the laid down rules, regulations and the Constitution of the Federal Republic or Nigeria, the Appellants purportedly passed a motion calling for the investigation of the allegations of misconduct against Senator Ladoja without the concurrent consent and approval of the two-thirds majority of the 32 member House of Assembly. The purported notice of allegations of misconduct against the Governor was not served on each member of the House of Assembly.
All men of good will must be worried by the culture of impunity that is being institutionalised in Nigeria. We must not afford to bury our heads in the ground like the ostrich and pretend that all is well because we are not involved or affected. After Hitler seized power in Germany, he set on his opponents and decimated them. Hitler became emboldened and he descended ruthlessly and mercilessly on the Jews and reduced the once prosperous and thriving Jewish Community to nothingness. Thereafter Hitler took on the world and unleashed a catastrophic World War and horror never seen in the history of mankind.
I am not advocating that Murtala Nyako should not be impeached. Nyako should be impeached if found guilty of corruption and recklessly governing his State but due process and the Constitution must be respected at all times no matter the temptation.


Okoi Obono-Obla

Boko Haram: $1 Billion To Be Borrowed By Idiots Who Stole $20 Billion

Prof. Pius Adesanmi

Professor Pius Adesanmi of the Department of English Language and Literature and the Institute of African Studies at Carleton University recently updated his Facebook status in reaction to President Jonathan’s request to borrow One billion dollars to fight insurgency in the country. His comment:

I just heard with one ear that Nigeria’s “head for ground yansh for up” President wants to borrow USD 1 billion to fight Boko Haram and has already written the National Assembly for approval of the planned feast. One billion dollars to be borrowed by arguably Africa’s most irresponsible state whose track record of external loans in its entire postcolonial life leads to Swiss vaults.
One billion dollars to be borrowed by idiots who stole twenty billion dollars internally and have been making such a thorough mess of denying or covering it up: admitting it today, half admitting it tomorrow; denying it today, half denying it tomorrow. One billion dollars – that’s a lot of new milliobillionaires to be manufactured in the political class and among those potbellied pepper soup Generals in the Nigerian Army once the said loan facility is approved by the lenders.
One billion dollars to be made on top of the corpses of thousands of Nigerians deleted by Boko Haram. If these fools are serious about looking for money to fight Boko Haram, I know where they can find one billion dollars.
In November 2013, the Swiss revealed that they had uncharacteristically released USD 700 million of Abacha loot to the Nigerian Government. I remember regretting at the time that the Swiss released that sort of money to the corrupt buccaneers ruling Nigeria instead of putting it in some kind of internationally-supervised trust fund for the Nigerian people.
Then, recently, Liechtenstein returned USD 227 million of Abacha loot to the same ethical Lilliputians in Aso Rock. The Americans also unwisely promised to return USD 458 million of Abacha loot to the same characters. The funds from Switzerland and Liechtenstein are already in; the balance from America will be in soon.
One billion dollars never reach from all these Abacha cowries that are being deported to Nigeria from all over the world? President Jonathan, go and use the recovered Abacha loot to fight Boko Haram. Do not borrow and loot another one billion dollars in our name. We don’t want the next President of Nigeria to spend his/her first four years in office running from Europe to America to seek the return of the Jonathan loot. Shior!