What lies ahead for Impeached Nyako as Acting Adamawa State Gov assumes office

[contextly_auto_sidebar id=”VKkJB3EIXICg9pZ1PMtYzrxSKzyr8qiR”]

After over one month of intrigues and maneuvers between the Adamawa State House of Assembly and the executive arm of government, which culminated in the impeachment of Murtala Nyako as governor of Adamawa State, the retired Naval Vice Admiral may have to face more landmines.
Adamawa Murtala-Nyako

This is even as the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon Ahmed Umaru Fintiri on Tuesday effectively took over the reign of government in the state as governor.

Fintiri’s taking over followed the ouster of former Governor Murtala Nyako through the votes of 17 members of the House which surpassed the required two-thirds votes required to effect the impeachment of a sitting governor.

Two-thirds of the 24 member House is 16 but the Adamawa legislators garnered 17 votes to cast the political records of the retired Naval Vice Admiral as executive governor into the dustbin of history.

Following his successful impeachment of Nyako as a governor with immunity, the coast seems clear for the federal government to further take the battle to his door step with a view to place squarely in political limbo permanently.

Accordingly, Nyako may be heading for a tougher battle of his life as the federal government according to sources is seriously weighing the option of trying the impeached governor for treason over his attempt at levelling a war against the government of Nigeria under the cover of immunity.

In addition to the likely treason charges, Per Second News gathered that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is believed to have swing into action in taking a critical look at the allegations of corruption, particularly the loan he allegedly obtained without the approval of the House of Assembly in addition to monies he allegedly paid to companies belonging to members of his families without their mobilizing to site.

Before the impeachment of Nyako, the House accepted the resignation of the deputy governor, Bala James Ngilari. But in a surprise move, the Director of Press to the impeached governor, Ahmed Sajo said the resignation of Barrister Bala James Ngilari was null and void as it violated the provision of the 1999 constitution as amended.

In a terse press statement, Sajo declared: “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 Governor resigns 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 letter 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. Barr Bala James Ngillari is still the Deputy Governor of Adamawa State.

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

At the plenary session yesterday, Fintiri had notified the House of a letter received from Ngilari about his resignation in his capacity as deputy governor of Adamawa State. Ngilari had noted in his letter that he had tendered the resignation based on personal reasons.
Consequently, a motion was moved for adoption of the letter, and the House subsequently accepted the resignation of Ngilari in line with relevant sections of the 1999 Nigerian constitution as amended.

Be that as it may, the report of panel constituted by the Acting Chief Judge, Justice Ambrose Mammadi of the State showed that four out of the 20 charges against the Nyako were dropped, while the remaining 16 were established and proved to have been violated by the impeached governor.

And in keeping with section 199 subsections (1) and (2), the House declared that the Speaker, Hon Ahmad Umaru Fintiri, be sworn in as the Acting Governor of the state.

Members representing Gombi and Numan constituencies, Hon Jerry Kumdisi and Kwamoti Laori, respectively, moved the motion for the impeachment of Nyako, with 18 lawmakers, including the Speaker, even as one of the signatories, Hon. Ishaq Bala, was absent at the plenary.

In his reaction to the impeachment, Nyako described it as “an act of God”, adding however that he would file an appeal in court to prove his innocence.

Nyako, who spoke through his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Ahmed Sajoh, appealed to the people of the state to remain calmed just as he thanked them for their support and cooperation during his tenure.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *