Nasarawa Impeachment: Al-Makura Runs To Abuja With Traditional Rulers To Beg Jonathan

Following the impeachment notice served on the Nasarawa State governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura by the state Assembly, the embattled state chief executive hurriedly left Lafia, the state capital yesterday for Abuja in an effort to prevail on President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the matter.

With the ouster of Adamawa Murtala Nyako, one can only imagine the fear of impeachment that must have gripped the All Progressives Congress governor, Al-Makura who is said to have moved almost all traditional rulers along with him to plead with the President.

Our source who doesn’t want his name mentioned said the Governor left for Abuja with notable traditional rulers in the state. They had converged at the guest house of the Emir of Lafia, Alhaji Isa Mustapha Agwai l, with a view to seeking their intervention on the matter before their movement to the FCT.

Other respected stakeholders in the state were expected to join Al-Makura in Abuja today so as to solicit President Jonathan’s intervention, as the governor is said to have lose sleep after he got the news of the assembly members plotting to sack him.

The clerk of the Assembly, Mr. Ego Maikeffi, who addressed the media disclosed that after several attempts to serve the impeachment notice on the governor, he was denied access into the Government House.

Ego stated further that in line with the directive of the Speaker, he is set to serve the notice through the media today.

The House Committee chairman on information and security, Hon. Mohammed Baba Ibaku, confirmed the development saying other options of serving the notice would be explored.

In a swift reaction however, the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Public Affairs, Hon. Abdulhamid Kwarra, denied the report insisting that the Assembly was yet to serve the notice as a 6pm yesterday.

Speaking on the unfolding scenario, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mr. Mark Neto said the state Assembly would be doing a disservice to the state if they had a catalogue of such gross misconduct and refused to take action.

Mr. Neto who noted that the PDP hierarchy in the state would have preferred the party to slug it out with Al-Makura at the poll but regretted however that “posterity would not be fair to the members if they gloss over such grievous misconduct”. He denied that the PDP embarked upon impeachment because it was afraid to face Al-Makura at the polls.

The immediate past state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Stanley Buba, on his part called on Governor Al-Makura to address the allegations levelled against him promptly, saying that the Assembly was only discharging its constitutional duty.

The PDP led house of assembly is said to be ready to sack the governor over alleged embezzlement and financial recklessness.