The power tussle between former Bauchi State Governor Muhammed Abubakar and his successor, Bala Mohammed; led to the emergence of Suleiman Abubakar as Speaker of the 9th House of Assembly. But, some aggrieved lawmakers loyal to the former governor have embarked on a revenge mission to remove the Speaker, eight months after the Assembly crisis was resolved. DAVID ADENUGA reports.
Indications emerging from the Bauchi House of Assembly suggest that there are attempts by some of the majority All Progressives Congress lawmakers to remove the Speaker, Suleiman Abubakar.
The APC has a clear majority at the Assembly. It has 22 out of the 31 members, while the ruling the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has eight, leaving the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) with the remaining one member. Apparently, the APC members are unhappy with how the Speaker outsmarted them to clinch the coveted seat.
An insider revealed that 19 lawmakers had initiated a process to remove Abubakar as the speaker, but could not muster the adequate number of signatories to ensure the two-third constitutional mark.
The reason for moving against the Speaker was that he is supporting the ruling the PDP, at the detriment of his own party, the APC. The Majority Leader, Aliyu Tijanni, an APC lawmaker representing Azare/Madangala Constituency has been tipped to as a possible replacement.
Another reason is the fear that the former governor is on the verge of being prosecuted by Governor Bala Mohammed, following a report by the State Asset and Recovery Committee has indicted him of corrupt practices while in office.
It was gathered that the speaker would be asked to resign honourably, but if he resists, the lawmakers would then impeach him.
The Nation also gathered that the 19 APC lawmakers had by Thursday, March 26 perfected the plan to remove the speaker at a wedding ceremony of the former governor friend’s daughter.
The power tussle between the immediate past governor and his successor had resulted in the emergence of two speakers the day the Assembly was inaugurated on June 20 2019. Kawuwa Shehu Damina and Abubakar had initially emerged as a speaker before a settlement was reached in favour of the latter.
Prior to the APC primary, the immediate past governor and the party leadership had ensured that only their loyalists got the ticket to contest for election to the State House of Assembly. This was seen as the first move to consolidate their grip on the members in order to do their biddings.
Things began to fall apart when the former governor lost the election to incumbent Governor Mohammed. The fact that the House was dominated by the APC placed the PDP and Governor Mohammed at a disadvantaged position, as the party could not field a candidate to vie for the speakership position because of its lack of numerical strength in the House. The PDP, therefore, had to form an alliance with some members of the opposition APC to have their way.
The party therefore decided to support a candidate that would work harmoniously with its executive, it was gathered. Consequently, the PDP threw its weight behind Abubakar, a fresher instead of the other two candidates, Damina and the former Majority Leader, Tijjani Mohammed Aliyu, representing Azare/Madangala Constituency.
PDP’s support for Abubakar was believed to be a move to block the chances of Damina, who, as the Speaker of the 8th Assembly was instrumental to some perceived ‘negative policies’ of the immediate past administration, including the two controversial bills passed to repeal an anti-corruption law and another one to create additional districts, hamlets and village areas.
However, it was gathered that the immediate past governor and the APC leadership mounted pressure on the other APC members to elect Damina as speaker of the 9th Assembly, a move that threw the PDP camp into a panic.
Few days to the earlier slated date for the inauguration (Monday, June 17 2019), a meeting was reportedly held in Kano where the APC members, including the two other candidates were told to step down for Damina. The move was however thwarted when the inauguration was suddenly postponed to Thursday, June 20, which was condemned by the opposition APC.
It was learnt that it was arranged that the eight PDP members, two from APC and the lone NNPP member will form an 11 member quorum needed to elect the speaker and his deputy. Part of the plan was also to fool the other APC members about the time slated for the inauguration on Thursday.
It was also alleged that the member representing Warji, Yunusa Ahmed, was preferred by the governor, but that he turned down the offer, saying that he cannot betray his party. Ahmed was said to have contacted his other colleagues who insisted that they would stick to the agreement reached at the Kano meeting to elect Damina as the speaker.
His rejection prompted the decision to settle for Abubakar. On the day of the inauguration, the 11 members loyal to Governor Mohammed elected Abubakar as the speaker and Danlami Ahmed Kawule of the PDP as his deputy. Twenty members loyal to the former governor also elected Damina as a speaker at a separate inauguration.
The governor was said to have even tried to persuade Damina to shelve his ambition but that did not work. The 11 members who elected Abubakar as the speaker arrived the Assembly complex as early as 6 am, while the other 20 members supporting Damina were absent.
The Damina faction held their inauguration at the Assembly premises at 11:15 am which was presided over by the member representing Warji constituency, Yunusa Ahmed. Ahmed nominated Damina and was seconded by the member representing Ganjuwa West constituency, Yusuf Inuwa Dadiye.
Ahmed Tukur Ibrahim was elected as deputy speaker by the Damina faction. Speaking after the inauguration, Damina said they were invited to come for the inauguration by 10:00 am on Thursday, but they came before the time only to meet the place locked with security agents stationed everywhere.
He said that they waited until 11:00 am and had no choice than to conduct their own inauguration. Damina said they are not in conflict with anybody and that they conducted the inauguration in the best interest of the state and to uphold democratic tenets.
Immediately after his election as the Speaker, Abubakar and the other members loyal to Governor Mohammed held a meeting with him at the Government House where they promised to work together for the development of the state.
However, eight months after the crisis was resolved, the agreement has broken down. Some aggrieved lawmakers are no longer ready to bow to the leadership of the house.
A source in the House said they are canvassing for 20 signatures to force the speaker to resign, “but the NNPP member backtracked from the plot and they were left with 19 signatures”. He said the aggrieved lawmakers are trying to take advantage of the health condition of the governor who is on a two-week compulsory isolation, after testing positive for Corona virus.
He said the aggrieved lawmakers had it in mind to convene at the Assembly after collecting all the signatures, and force the speaker to resign. But, if he refuses, they will then hold a plenary to remove him. His words: “Yes, it is true that there was a plot by 20 APC lawmakers to remove the speaker last Thursday.
All arrangements were in top gear and they were looking for only one signature to perfect their plan which is that of the only NNPP member in the house. But, the NNPP lawmaker backtracked. This actually thwarted their plans on that same Thursday.
“The reason why they are trying to remove the speaker is because the government is trying to use the report of the Bauchi Asset recovery Committee to prosecute the former governor (Mohammed Abubakar) who actually gave them the party’s ticket to become members of the House. Obviously, some of them are still loyal to him. The only way they can stop this is to have the leadership of the House on their side.
“Already, the speaker has been accused of being a stooge of Governor Mohammed who helped him to become speaker. Thus, it will be difficult to bring him to their side.”
The source added that the move was perfected during the wedding of former Governor Abubakar’s friend’s daughter, which coincided with the flagging off ceremony by Governor Mohammed. He said the APC lawmakers were invited for the flagging off ceremony of 2,500 housing units, chaired by the governor, but they shunned the event to attend the wedding.
He said: “This did not go well with the governor who felt he was highly disrespected by the APC lawmakers who shunned the flagging off ceremony. The governor, however, told them to their face that he is going to prosecute their former boss who was indicted of corrupt practices while in office by the Bauchi State Asset and Recovery Committee.
“Having realised that their coup has failed, some of the lawmakers pulled out. As we speak, the coup planners do not have the required numbers to prosecute their evil plans. They are now very jittery.”
He said the speaker is unperturbed by the alleged impeachment threat against him. His words: “The speaker, being a quiet and humble man, has said he is not desperate to hold on to power. He said he is only there to serve the state and if God wishes that he only spent nine months as speaker, so be it.
“The PDP camp is deeply worried right now because they know that the impeachment is not even targeting the speaker but the governor. The party knows the APC lawmakers are only trying to cause chaos in the state.”
The source said it was a wakeup call to the governor to take care of those on his side, by making sure their demands are met. I think they are looking for extra favours, apart from allowance and salaries.
That is why they are still loyal to the immediate past governor. May be they are not getting favours from the governor, and, so are vulnerable and can easily be manipulated by the former governor.”
The Majority Leader has been tipped as the next speaker by his APC colleagues. When asked for his comment, he denied any knowledge of the development. He said: “I am not aware of that; it’s just a rumour. In fact, I am currently on self-isolation.
Nobody knows tomorrow, and leadership is being given by God. What we are after is that Coronavirus should go. It is a blatant lie. It is a figment of someone’s imagination that we want to remove the speaker. They are entitled to their opinion though.”
Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the House who is also a PDP lawmaker, Musa Wakili Nakwada said there was a misunderstanding at the beginning but that it has been resolved.
Nakwada, who represents Bogoro Constituency, neither confirmed nor dismissed the allegation.
His words: “This is a rumour; there is no confirmation but at the same time a rumour can be true or false. But, as can be seen, though I am a PDP lawmaker, I am the spokesperson of the House, which consists of three different political parties with APC in the majority.
“Aside that, the House is on recess due to the outbreak of Coronavirus, so there is no way anyone can hold a plenary to impeach Abubakar, even if there is a plan like that; it will never work.”
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