The Nasarawa State House of Assembly (NSHA) passed a motion yesterday to commence impeachment process against Governor Umar Tanko Al-Makura, the assembly members submitted the impeachment notice while President Jonathan was in the state alongside the governor to Commission Olam integrated rice mill.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP)-controlled House had before now perfected plans to throw out the government of the All Progressives Congress (APC), our sources say the lawmakers had been given N84m each by the governor to shelf the plans.
But with the development from the state Assembly announcing a turn around, that 20 out of its 24 members have signed the impeachment notice of 16-count charges, the 3billion naira alleged to have been spent by the governor must have been wasted.
The members took turns to state the impeachable offence committed by the governor, which includes that the governor presided over the misappropriation of about N13 billion in three years, extra budgetary expenditure, gross misconduct and abuse of public office.
Sixteen of the 24 members rushed back from an ongoing recess and held a plenary session that lasted only about 12 minutes where they deliberated only on one item – the impeachment process, which was raised under “Matters of Public Interest”. The session, which commenced immediately after members held an Executive session behind closed doors, lasted between 11:30am and 11:43am.
The Impeachment proceedings presided over by Speaker Musa Ahmed Mohammed rounded off. The speaker said the House had to recall members from the ongoing recess because of the urgency and the importance of the matter.
A motion under “Matters of Public Interest” was raised by the Deputy Majority Leader, Yahaya Usman Ohinoyi (PDP, Umaisha/Ugya), who presented the motion on notice containing the 16-point charges. He announced that the notice was signed by 20 of the 24 members.
The four house of assembly members who did not sign are all members of the APC, governor Al-Makura’s party. It is alleged that members have been promised automatic ticket
These are the allegations against Al-Makura
House committee chairman on Information Mohammed Baba Ibaku (PDP, Udege/Loko) told Daily Trust on phone, minutes after the House proceedings that the impeachment process became necessary after a report of recent probes instituted by the House indicted Al-Makura over alleged sundry offences including “misappropriation of funds, or outright diversion.”
“The notice contains 16 charges against the governor. Other allegations border on gross misconduct, and abuse of office.”
He enumerated some of the offences to include “the recent recruitment of hundreds of youths without budgetary provisions for the expenditure; the SUBEB (State Universal Basic Education Board) spent over and above N800 million on a friend of the governor and his in-law; the probe discovered that the sum of N2 billion was missing from the Local Government Joint Accounts.
“There is also the issue of SURE-P funds recklessly spent by the Local Government ministry. The investigation showed that over N700 million is missing. There is also N400 million flood intervention funds which the federal government sent last two years. It is missing,” Ibaku added.
Daily Trust called the clerk, Mr. Mai-Keffi, who said the notice had not reached the governor as at 3pm, when this report was still being compiled.
“Not yet, we have not served the governor. As soon as they return from Doma, we will serve him,” he said, but declined to make known the detailed content.
