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Tag: Nyako

  • Aspirant condemns Nyako’s impeachment

    governorship aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, Mr. Nath Ikeocha has berated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for its alleged involvement in the impeachment of Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako.

    Speaking to reporters in Aba, Ikeocha, a lawyer, criticized what he called the “heavy financial inducement” by the PDP hierarchy to lure and railroad members of the state assembly into taking an “unpatriotic decision and grossly abusing the democratic culture”.

    He equally blamed members of the Adamawa State legislature for allowing themselves to be cheaply used for such undemocratic act.

    Ikeocha said: “I am shocked over the impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa by the state lawmakers especially when it becomes obvious that such was orchestrated by the PDP. It is unfortunate that democracy which we fought restore is brazenly threatened by a few desperate power mongers for selfish reasons. Besides the fact Nyako’s impeachment represents a clear case of impunity and dictatorship, it also undermines our democratic advancement which no doubt makes mockery of Nigeria in the comity of nations”.

    He also subscribed entirely to the position of the national leadership of the APC to challenge the impeachment in court, arguing that the exercise would definitely not stand owing to what he described as ‘obvious breach of constitutional provisions’.

    While condemning corruption by public office holders including state governors, the governorship hopeful insisted that Nyako was removed on political grounds by the PDP to reclaim the state from the back door.

    Ikeocha, however, commended the newly elected national executive of the party expressing optimism that APC under Chief John Oyegun would lead the party to victory in 2015 elections.

    On the crisis rocking the party in Abia State, Ikeocha appealed to various factions to jettison rancour and bitterness and close ranks in order to build a formidable platform that will end the PDP government in the state.

    “It is unfortunate that our party members are still disagreeing on quite a number of issues. It is also a known fact that the national leadership of our party has acknowledged that no congress took place in Abia State.

    “While we expect our leaders to address the problem as quickly as possible, it is expressly binding on us to come together and build a formidable platform bearing in mind the huge task of defeating the ruling PDP. We should not also allow our personal interest to override that of our great party considering the fact that our ultimate goal is to take over governance for the greater benefit of our members and the good people of Abia state,” he said.

  • ‘Jonathan, PDP not behind Nyako’s removal’

    ‘Jonathan, PDP not behind Nyako’s removal’

    The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, has described the impeachment of the former Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako, as an act of democracy.

    Metuh said the impeachment was a constitution right granted the people of Adamawa State and it was exercised through the State House of Assembly’s members.

    The PDP spokesperson, in a statement yesterday, added that the lawmakers “accorded rule of law and due process the rightful place in removing Nyako.”

    Metuh added: “Therefore, allegations by the All Progressives Congress (APC) linking the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and President Goodluck Jonathan to this are purely escapist and can only come from revisionists and reactionary forces.”

    He added that it was unfortunate that the APC championing the rights of the people to choice of leadership was the same party turning against the constitutionally guaranteed right of the people to withdraw legitimacy through impeachment and recall.

    The statement advised the APC to look inwards in finding answers to its woes and leave the PDP out of it, saying that “if a sitting governor who has spent over seven years in office could be removed by more than two-third of the members of his state assembly, reasons should be located to fundamental factors within rather than the trite excuses of external influence.

    “While we state in no uncertain terms that neither the PDP as a party nor President Jonathan is remotely or otherwise connected to the impeachment in Adamawa or elsewhere, we also wish to ask the APC to locate the Sword of Damocles dangling in some of the states which they control to the expression of the collective will of the people against bad governance as the PDP believes strongly in separation of powers and the sanctity of the legislature.”

  • Nyako’s impeachment:Nigeria is descending into fascism, says Tinubu

    Nyako’s impeachment:Nigeria is descending into fascism, says Tinubu

    National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday  lashed out at President  Goodluck Jonathan for encouraging fascism in the polity.

    Reviewing the events culminating in this week’s  impeachment of  Alhaji Murtala Nyako as governor of Adamawa State by the State Assembly, Tinubu  said the development is a setback for Nigeria’s democracy.

    “Under the constitution, a governor can only be impeached for ‘gross misconduct.’ For the PDP, Nyako’s crime was not the false allegations contained in the articles of impeachment. To them, his gross misconduct was leaving the reactionary PDP to join the progressive APC. His misdeed was to exercise his constitutional right of freedom of association and political expression by leaving their corrupt assemblage and joining the party that just may represent the best hope of rescuing Nigeria from its present descent into authoritarian darkness,” he said in a statement in Lagos.

    Continuing, Tinubu said: “Perhaps, Governor Nyako’s greatest sin is his temerity to speak truth to power albeit in a courageous way. On two different occasions, he gave an unvarnished insight into the Boko Haram menace and the insecurity engulfing Northern Nigeria.

    “At the Institute of Peace in Washington DC, this year when he visited with other Northern governors, he placed the blame for the Boko Haran insurgency on the Jonathan presidency. He then followed this up with a detailed letter to the forum of the Northern governors, in which he accused the Jonathan-led government of genocide against the North.

    “This rattled and unsettled the government. Repeated attempts to have Gov. Nyako withdraw his letter and apologize to the President failed. From the moment he wrote that letter, he became a marked man. The government savaged the governor through the media.

    “This kangaroo impeachment is government’s way of punishing Nyako. The plan is to use the contents of the letter he wrote to the Northern Governors as a basis to try him for treasonable felony and eventually sentence him to life imprisonment. Nyako’s frank, if rough-edged, letter concerning the security situation apparently infuriated the monarch of Aso Villa who has become so arrogant as to believe no opposition against him is justified, thus he has the liberty to impose his brand of injustice to crush those who oppose him.

    “Before our eyes and under Jonathan’s watch, Nigeria gradually descends into fascism. We must all act now before it consumes us al” Tinubu said.

    The former Lagos State governor also deplored  the President’s handling of the abduction of the Chibok girls by Boko Haram, especially his refusal to see the parents of the girls until  the recent visit to Nigeria of the Pakistani pupil activist, Malala.

  • I’m ready to defend N6bn debt allegation, says Nyako

    I’m ready to defend N6bn debt allegation, says Nyako

    Three die as youths protest plot to sack Nasarawa governor

    Former Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako remained defiant yesterday, saying he is ready to defend his integrity.

    Security agencies and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are after Nyako, who was impeached in hazy circumstances on Tuesday, but he remains in high spirits, according to an aide.

    Nyako is accused by Acting Governor Umaru Fintiri of plunging the state into a N6billion debt.

    He said the loans he took, including the controversial N6billion, were approved by the House of Assembly.

    Also yesterday, The Nation learnt that former Deputy Governor Bala James Ngillari was under pressure to go to court to seek his reinstatement as acting governor “because he was forced to resign”.

    Nyako, who spoke through his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Ahmad Sajoh, said he had nothing to hide on his tenure.

    He said: “Admiral Murtala Nyako is ready to defend himself on any allegation in an open court and under a fair system.

    “But he said in a system where impunity is the order of the day, he cannot get a fair hearing. How do you expect a goat to get fair hearing in a court presided over by wolves?”

    On the alleged N6billion debt left behind by Nyako administration, Nyako’s spokesman said: “The Acting Governor has not even settled down; he has not been briefed by those in charge and he is declaring debts of about N6billion.

    “This shows that the Acting Governor is acting a script. We knew the script was written long ago; they will release sleaze materials to vilify Nyako. That is why they have sent security agents and EFCC operatives after him to cast aspersion on Admiral Nyako.

    “If Nyako left N6billion debt, all the loans or debts were approved by the House of Assembly, which was presided over by the Acting Governor in his capacity as the Speaker. So, you can see that they are acting a script.

    “The whole thing borders on what Nyako said about how President Goodluck Jonathan is tackling the insurgency in the country. They were not happy and they decided to remove him from office. But is he not being vindicated now?”

    Ngillari’s plan to go to court is believed to have the backing of

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief, including some National Assembly members.

    The plot will lead to Fintiri’s removal.

    Investigation by our correspondent revealed that some stakeholders were unhappy that Ngilari was forced to resign without following the provision of the 1999 Constitution. A source said: “Ngillari was either forced or frightened to write the resignation letter by members of the House of Assembly.

    “But they shot themselves in the foot when they asked him to write the resignation letter to the Speaker, instead of the governor.

    “What happened was that Ngillari, on Tuesday, wrote the governor on his resignation from office.

    “But in their desperation to remove the former governor, the House of Assembly asked Ngilari to write the Speaker directly because Nyako was in Abuja and it would take time for him to communicate Ngillari’s decision to the Assembly.

    “Ngilari withdrew the resignation letter he sent to the governor and wrote a fresh one to the Speaker, which was a violation of Section 306(5) of 1999 Constitution.”

    Sajoh had in a statement said: “We wish to state categorically that Section 306 (5) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended requires that the deputy resign not to the House of Assembly but to the Governor. As at the time the supposed resignation was said to have been tendered in the House, Murtala H. Nyako was the governor of Adamawa State.

    “No such was written to him, none was received by him and none was approved by him. It should, therefore, be known that in the eyes of the law, the deputy governor has not resigned. Barrister Bala James Ngillari is still the Deputy Governor of Adamawa State.

    “This clarification is necessary to avert another subversion of the constitution, since the order processes relating to the impeachment saga have all been in contravention of the constitution and the law. We wish to observe that the continued abuse of the constitution and the law of the land will spell doom for our democracy.”

  • What’s next with Nyako down, Al-Makura under threat?

    What’s next with Nyako down, Al-Makura under threat?

    As the country moves towards the 2015 general elections, President Goodluck Jonathan appears to be showing his true colour. Tuesday’s impeachment of Murtala Nyako, the commencement of a similar plot to remove Nasarawa State Governor Umaru Al-Makura and several developments on the political scene, say analysts, suggest that Nigeria is fast turning into a one-party state, reports Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI 

    With the impeachment of former Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the commencement of the process of removing another governor of the same party in Nasarawa State, Tank Al-Makura, Nigeria may be heading for a one-party state. Nyako was impeached on Tuesday by the House of Assembly, after 18 of the 25 members consented to the contents of the report of the panel which indicted him for alleged financial recklessness. His deputy, Bala Ngilari, resigned on Tuesday morning . His purported letter of resignation was read ahead of the day’s plenary by the former Speaker, Umaru Fintiri, who was sworn in as acting governor. Following this development, the PDP has taken over the state.

    Members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly on Tuesday began impeachment proceedings against Al-Makura, who is also of the APC. The House directed its Clerk, Ego Maikeffi, to serve Al-Makura with an impeachment notice for alleged gross misconduct and misappropriation of funds the day before. The notice was signed by 20 of the 24 lawmakers  during a sitting presided over by the Speaker, Ahmed Mohammed. The 16-count charge borders on alleged extra-budgetary expenses by the governor.

    The plot to remove Al-Makura has been on  for some time. The PDP has been angling to carry out the impeachment for over a year , using members of the Assembly, which is dominated by the opposition party, which was the ruling party  before it was defeated by the APC. Indeed, Al- Makura’s Special Adviser on Special Duties Mohammed Abdullahi , alleged that members of the Assembly collected about N30 million each for the impeachment.

    Aside from Adamawa and Nasarawa, a political crisis allegedly being fuelled by the PDP is simmering in Edo, Rivers, Ogun and a number of other states controlled by the APC. In Edo State, for instance, following a string of defections from the APC to the PDP, a crisis over the control of the Assembly has ensued. The House is now polarised along party lines and can hardly function. The allegation is that the former APC members who defected to the PDP were financially induced to do so.

    In Rivers State, the PDP made an unsuccessful attempt to unseat Governor Rotimi Amaechi in May, last year, when eight lawmakers in the Assembly joined the camp of the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, bringing to 13 the number of anti-Amaechi lawmakers. But, the attempt to impeach the Speaker, who is loyal to Amaechi, backfired and so the process was stalled. The situation in Rivers now is one of uneasy calm, but the PDP, it is believed, has not given up.

    With these developments, the opposition party is being emasculated in the power equation, as the country approaches the crucial 2015 general elections, no thanks to the machinations of the ruling PDP. This is made possible by the willingness of the ruling party to muscle its way through,  using the financial wherewithal available to it from its vantage position.

    The convener of the Nigerian Voters’ Assembly, a civil society group, Moshood Erubami, believes the PDP is getting ready to slam a one-party state on Nigeria.

    He said: “Unfortunately when you look at the President and his mien, he looks so gentle, but when you see his body language and manifestations, you will know that he is a man that Nigerians should beware of. My fear is that the after-effect of all this anarchy might wake the military up and nobody can predict the end of the saga.”

    A Lagos-based lawyer and the immediate past  chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch, Monday Ubani, described Jonathan’s latest antics to neutralise the opposition before 2015 as “absurdity of the highest order.” Ubani declined further comment, saying it is a bad omen for the  general elections.

    Nyako’s  crisis is premised on his attempt to pilot the ship of state against the direction preferred by his former benefactors. He was removed, following a prolonged political crisis that started with the bickering within ruling PDP over control of the state between him and then National Party Chairman Bamanga Tukur. Observers say Nyako would have been sitting pretty as governor, but for his conflict with the party that brought him into office and his hard, rebellious posture against Jonathan.

    Erubami said: “Nyako was not a thief when he was dancing to their tune, but since he joined the APC, he has become a thief. By extension, all the governors that defected to APC are now rogues and must be given rogue treatment. But, they should not forget that Nigerians are not stupid; we know whose script is being played out. Very soon all their strategies and tactics would come home to roost.

    “It is a very big threat to our democracy because the process through which Nyako was impeached is very much unconstitutional. The man went to court before the committee started sitting, but they ignored it. Where the rule of law is set aside in preference for personal ambition is an anathema to democratic norms.”

    He told The Nation on Tuesday that: “We know those who are writing the script. It is not strange; we have witnessed a situation where seven legislators attempted to impeach a speaker in an assembly that has over 15 members, all in bid to remove the governor. We are hearing about Nasarawa now. So, where they cannot rig elections, what they do is to impeach?”

    Elder statesman and Second Republic politician Alhaji Tanko Yakassai noted that whosoever advised Nyako and his deputy to shun the invitation extended them by the investigating to defend themselves did not give them a good advice.

    His words: “It was not really helpful because in a matter like this you need to give your own side of the story. Maybe the people have made up their mind, but at least posterity would know what you have to say. This is because when you are accused of committing a crime and you keep quiet, whether you like it or not it would be deemed that you are guilty. Your defence might not make much difference, but it would be on record forever that this was your response.”

    Yakassai does not believe that Nigeria is heading for a one-party state.

    “Nigeria is not the kind of country that would end up with a one-party state,” he said, adding that what happened in Adamawa and what is happening in Nasarawa is a continuation of the PDP crisis.

    “Nyako was a member of the PDP and Tanko Al Makura was also a member of the party before he crossed over to the defunct CPC just before the 2011 election and got elected. So, it’s a continuation of the PDP crisis,” he said.

    Nevertheless, Yakassai said it is unfortunate that the crisis in Adamawa reached this stage.

  • Nyako’s impeachment: APC will go to court, says Odigie-Oyegun

    Nyako’s impeachment: APC will go to court, says Odigie-Oyegun

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, yesterday said the party would challenge the impeachment of Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako in court.

    Nyako himself has vowed to head for the court.

    Odigie-Oyegun said: “I don’t know how much I can say   to that your question because I think if we are not already in court, I think we should be.

    “But it is clear that there was no due process. Even as loose as the provisions are, they did not have the patience and decency to abide by them.”

    Asked to be specific, Oyegun said: “For example, just to take the basic one:  the law provides that the governor must be personally served. Was he served personally? “Secondly, there was a subsisting court order, which should have stopped the impeachment process until the governor’s petition was disposed off. But they went ahead. “There are a lot more other but when our lawyers go to court, you will see that. Concerning allegation of gross misconduct, it was the most fair- less impeachment procedure on record up to date.

    “I have no doubt in my mind that any properly constituted legal tribunal is going to reverse the process.

    We are going to vigorously challenge what has happened in Adamawa State.”

    Oyegun was however taken to task by reporters on why APC had to blame President Goodluck Jonathan for the impeachment of Nyako after the former governor publicly absolved the President of complicity.

    Oyegun insisted that there was no contradiction between the party’s position and Nyako’s purported statement.

    He added: “There is no contradiction there. The governor did what he had to do. But we will agree as a party what to do when the need arises for us to do it. There is no contradiction, the governor is a governor, the party is a party. That is a bit different.

    “On the loose provision of the constitution, our legal luminaries and representatives will look into it.

    “In this nation, you know what happens, when the weakness of the law favours those who have the hammer in their hand, they use it to the fullest possible effect.”

  • Nyako’s impeachment: APC will go to court, says Odigie-Oyegun

    Nyako’s impeachment: APC will go to court, says Odigie-Oyegun

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, yesterday said the party would challenge the impeachment of Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako in court.

    Nyako himself has vowed to head for the court.

    Odigie-Oyegun said: “I don’t know how much I can say   to that your question because I think if we are not already in court, I think we should be.

    “But it is clear that there was no due process. Even as loose as the provisions are, they did not have the patience and decency to abide by them.”

    Asked to be specific, Oyegun said: “For example, just to take the basic one:  the law provides that the governor must be personally served. Was he served personally? “Secondly, there was a subsisting court order, which should have stopped the impeachment process until the governor’s petition was disposed off. But they went ahead. “There are a lot more other but when our lawyers go to court, you will see that. Concerning allegation of gross misconduct, it was the most fair- less impeachment procedure on record up to date.

    “I have no doubt in my mind that any properly constituted legal tribunal is going to reverse the process.

    We are going to vigorously challenge what has happened in Adamawa State.”

    Oyegun was however taken to task by reporters on why APC had to blame President Goodluck Jonathan for the impeachment of Nyako after the former governor publicly absolved the President of complicity.

    Oyegun insisted that there was no contradiction between the party’s position and Nyako’s purported statement.

    He added: “There is no contradiction there. The governor did what he had to do. But we will agree as a party what to do when the need arises for us to do it. There is no contradiction, the governor is a governor, the party is a party. That is a bit different.

    “On the loose provision of the constitution, our legal luminaries and representatives will look into it.

    “In this nation, you know what happens, when the weakness of the law favours those who have the hammer in their hand, they use it to the fullest possible effect.”

  • Pro-democracy group condemns Nyako’s impeachment

    Pro-democracy group condemns Nyako’s impeachment

    A pro-democracy group, the Voters’ Assembly (VOTAS) has condemned Tuesday’s impeachment of Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako.

    The group, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Comrade Mashood Erubami, Wednesday, said Nyako’s impeachment set a new template for vindictive politics in Nigeria, describing it as an ominous sign that the 2015 election will be racked with possible catastrophes.

    The statement read in part: “If the impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako in Adamawa  is left unchallenged, it would have spill -over effect, in other states where the legislators are already beating the drum  of impeachment  as is the case in Edo, Rivers, Kano, and  Nassarawa,  in  an attempt at putting the states on the keg of gun powder which could possibly cause a chain of reactions,  the end of which nobody could predict.

    “Obviously, the political environment is now soaked with series of alarms over threat to the lives of key members of opposition parties and potential candidates in the 2015 election, so is the threat of impeachment actions are hovering over some of the states not under the control of the PDP, a worrisome and anti-democratic advance being perpetrated through monetarily pacified legislators who are daily waking up to see the past misdemeanors committed by their governors. These same Legislators have had to encourage their Governors to defect, to other parties and later using the defection and not really the listed allegations for their impeachment.

    “In the case of Nyako, the legislators have shown that there was no thorough investigation of the conduct of Murtala Nyako as they were only out to play the script of devil written for them from outside the state without due regards for God and the constitution.

    “The way the investigation was handled within few days of sitting by the panel as against the 3 months prescribed by the constitution and the manner of submitting and affirming the report by the honorable members within few days it was submitted to it suggest that it was not the allegations that were at the root of the impeachment and this queried the religious beliefs of those internally concerned and their outside instigators and masterminds.

    “The legislators themselves are guilty of gross misconduct, a grave violation of the processes set by the constitution to be met before any impeachment could be commenced such as direct personal service and fair hearing, more so when the Supreme Court has ruled that such a notice must be personally served.  The question is that should the law be disallowed to rule because of the preference of the few who want to abuse their power and misuse their authority?”

    VOTAS said the action of the legislators portends a dangerous trend, adding that it came at a wrong time when the country is dangerously transiting from civil governance to democracy in the midst of overwhelming insecurity.

  • Nyako: Atiku cautions PDP against excessive use of power

    Nyako: Atiku cautions PDP against excessive use of power

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned against the excessive use of power by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led federal government, a tendency, which he said, was not good for decent democratic practice.
    Atiku, who was reacting to the impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, said in a statement by his media office in Abuja that wielding the axe of impeachment against elected public office holders to settle scores by the PDP-led federal government would needlessly build up tension in the country.
    The former Vice President said the reckless use of impeachment to settle scores could not have been the intention of the framers of the 1999 Constitution.
    He said the frequency with which elective officials were being shot down by impeachment would destroy the whole purpose of inserting the impeachment clause in the Constitution.
    He regretted that the use of impeachment to harass and humiliate perceived opponents by the PDP-led federal government would ultimately bastardize the spirit in which the constitution provides for the impeachment clause.
    The former Vice President admonished the PDP-led federal government to take it easy in the way they use power, adding that the constitution was not meant to provide ammo to anybody to harass and humiliate opponents or force them out of office.
    He deplored the use of financial inducements to influence the removal of perceived opponents from office. According to him, triumphalism in the suppression of opponents is a bad omen for democracy.
  • Adamawa: Nyako impeached, deputy resigns

    Adamawa: Nyako impeached, deputy resigns

    The Adamawa State House of Assembly on Tuesday impeached Governor Murtala Nyako shortly after the Deputy Governor, Bala Ngilari resigned.

    After deliberating on three volumes of report of the Investigative Panel headed by Buba Kaigama, 18 out of the 25 members in the Assembly opted to remove Nyako.

    The Assembly needed the consent of 17 members to remove the governor.

    Shortly after the impeachment, the Assembly wrote a letter ADHA/GEN/S/108 to the acting Chief Judge of the state to inaugurate the Speaker, Ahmadu Umaru as the acting governor.

    The letter, signed by the Clerk to the House, Francis Gbanisenso, reads: “The Honourable House during its sitting on Tuesday, 15th July 2014 resolved and directed you to swear in the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru as the Acting Governor of Adamawa State today 15th day of July 2014.

    “This is in pursuant to Section 191(1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(As Amended).”

    In his July 15, 2014 resignation letter referenced as DGO/GHY/PER/60/75, Ngilari said: “Pursuant to Section 306(5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended), I kindly notify you of my resignation from the office of the Deputy Governor of Adamawa State forthwith on personal grounds.

    “I want to thank you immensely for the opportunity to serve Adamawa State and wish you and the good people of the state well in the remaining period of your administration.”

    The State Assembly had raised a seven-man panel to probe Nyako and his erstwhile deputy, Bala Ngilari.

    Members of the panel, led by Buba Kaigama (Mubi Northern Zone), were Laraba Hassan (Michika Northern Zone) Njidda Kito (Song Central Zone) Joshua Abu (Hong Central Zone);

    Binanu Esthon (Guyuk Southern Zone) Sa’ad Lawan (Mayo-Belwa Southern Zone); and Esthon Gapsiso (Genye Southern Zone)