There is currently heightened tension in Gusau, Zamfara State capital, over the whereabouts of the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Sanusi Garba Rikiji, and other principal officers, who were reportedly arrested by security operatives in Abuja, yesterday.
READ Our Earlier report, For Plotting To Impeach The Governor, Zamfara Speaker, Others Arrested By DSS….
According to feelers from the state, the lawmakers had been plotting to impeach Governor Abdulaziz Yari over alleged mismanagement of the state’s share of the federal government’s bailout fund to states and other offences.
While it is believed that the arrest and whereabouts of the Speaker and others may not be unconnected with the alleged impeachment plot against the governor, the spokesperson of the State House of Assembly, Alhaji Nasiru Usman Biyabiki, confirmed yesterday that the Speaker and all the principal officers, including all the other members, were invited by the Department of State Services (DSS) to Abuja.
Biyabiki, however, said, “I can’t confirm (whether) they were actually arrested.”
A reliable source close to the state legislature told LEADERSHIP that though all the members were initially invited, including the Speaker, his deputy and other principal officers, the members, except the principal officers, were later dismissed and were now in Kaduna.
Some angry youths had, on Sunday night, stormed the official residence of the Speaker, over the alleged move by the State Assembly to impeach Governor Yari.
They besieged the Speaker’s residence following a tip-off that all the 24 members, led by the Speaker, were holding a crucial meeting to effect the impeachment last Monday.
According to the chairman of the youth wing the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sabon Gari ward of Gusau local government, Mallam Safiyanu Shehu, the youths succeeded in dispersing the meeting and damaging three vehicles belonging to the Speaker.
Shehu said, “We, the youths, have acknowledged the administrative benefits of the governor, and will never allow some selfish syndicate to impeach him. Our action was primarily targeted at dispersing the sinister meeting, and blocking the bad intention to generate unnecessary chaos in the state.”
But speaking on behalf of other lawmakers, the acting chairman, House Committee on Information, Hon. Dayyabu Rijiya, denied the impeachment plot allegation, describing it as entirely false.
Rijiya explained that the Assembly was an independent democratic institution with a constitutionally assigned role, and that it had the right to meet to deliberate on issues concerning the state and advise the executive arm accordingly.
He said the most disturbing issue was how the federal government bailout was mismanaged.
“We are not comfortable with that as the bailout was diverted to programmes other than what it was actually meant for,” he said.
Rijiya further pointed at the employment of 1,400 workers about three years ago, noting that up to this moment, none of them had received any salary.
He also expressed the lawmakers’ worry at the prolonged indiscriminate sacking of workers all over the state under the pretext of staff screening by the executive arm.
“There is also the issue of lingering failure to pay local government workers for many months, which has resulted in untold hardship for the families of those affected. These are the issues we felt obliged to meet and draw recommendations, for the executive arm to study their economic and social implications and act accordingly,” he said.
A source close to the legislature confided in LEADERSHIP that the impeachment move had been in the works for the past two months.
Reacting to the matter, the state commissioner for information, Hon. Umar Jibo Bukkuyum, dismissed the allegation as mere speculation.
He said that even during the recent budget presentation by the governor, the Speaker had, on behalf of other members, commended the governor for his efforts in transforming and adding quality to the socio-economic status of the state.
Bukkuyum also stated that President Muhammadu Buhari had, during his recent visit to inspect of projects executed by the state and local governments, commended the governor for his achievements in office.
He quoted the president as saying: “I am deeply impressed by the work done by Governor Yari, and I have known him as one of the performing governors since his first term in office.”
According to him, the impeachment speculation was generated to create unnecessary tension and bring disharmony in the existing cordial working relations between the two arms of government.
Efforts to get a reaction from the DSS about the alleged arrest proved futile yesterday, as the organisation has no spokesman.
