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| Nyako |
There were indications last night
that the impeached governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, might be arrested
by security agents and charged to court for alleged treason any moment from now.
SHOWBIZPLUSng gathered that while
the treason charges against the former governor is billed to take off in one
court, the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, would be
prosecuting Nyako in another court for allegedly looting funds of the state
said to have been stashed in a local bank.
The governor and the North-East
Region manager of the said bank will be charged with another top official of
Adamawa State Government, who is being held by the anti-graft agency for aiding
and abetting the looting.
A competent security source told
Vanguard that the Presidency has already ordered the Attorney-General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, to file treason charges
against the governor, who lost his plum job yesterday.
The charges, according to the source,
had been prepared by the Federal Government even before the impeachment process
against Nyako started and would merely be completed with the governor’s removal
from office.
Nyako to face treason charges
Findings by Vanguard revealed that Nyako is to be tried specifically for
levying war against Nigeria and inciting Nigerians and the international
community against the person of President Goodluck Jonathan by accusing
Jonathan of committing genocide against Northerners under the guise of fighting
terrorism.
One of the sources said: “The AGF is
ready with the treason charges against Nyako, who never showed any remorse over
his letter to the Northern Governors Forum and refused to retract the contents
and apologise even when he had the opportunity to do so.
“The AGF has since been directed to
file treason charges against the governor, who was fired by the Adamawa State
House of Assembly on Tuesday (yesterday) because what he did was levying war
against the nation and inciting the world against President Jonathan.
“If the former governor is lucky, he
will survive the legal onslaught against him but he may be in for many years in
jail if convicted for his indiscretion and deliberate action to malign the
President of Nigeria,” the source said.
Why Presidency dumped Ngilari On why
the Presidency withdrew its earlier support for the Deputy Governor to succeed
Nyako, the source explained that Ngilari lost out because he tried to join
forces with Nyako and work against the interest of the PDP stakeholders in the
state.
He explained that Ngilari lost the
support of the Presidency and the PDP stakeholders in the state when it was
discovered that he had accepted to take over from Nyako and make Nyako’s son
his deputy.
“Ngilari lost out when the Presidency
got information that he had reached an agreement with Nyako to resign for him
to take over as governor and make his son deputy governor so as to continue to
protect the former governor’s interests. He thought he was smart,” the source
said.
Vanguard further learnt that
Ngilari, a Christian, was prevented from succeeding Nyako, a Muslim, so as not
to stoke ethno-religious crisis in the state and worsen the security problem in
the North-East.
His removal from office
notwithstanding, Nyako remained boisterous, yesterday, insisting that he
accepted the action against him in good faith, as it was merely a judgment by
man and not God.
The former governor said: “All
praise be to Allah. We accept what has happened. This is the judgment of man;
we should all remember that there is God’s judgment in the hereafter”.
Apparently hinging his hope on his
move to challenge the impeachment process against him, Nyako urged his
supporters to remain calm and law-abiding, as the matter was far from being
over.
Ngilari hasn’t resigned — Nyako In
spite of that, Nyako disagreed with the claim by the House of Assembly that
Ngilari had resigned his position as deputy governor, arguing that the law
required the deputy governor to submit his resignation letter to the governor and
not the House of Assembly.
Nyako argued that he was still the
governor of Adamawa State at the time Ngilari was said to have submitted his
resignation letter to the Speaker of the state House of Assembly in
contravention of Section 306 (5) of the 1999 Constitution.
Nyako, who spoke through his
Director of Press and Public Affairs, Mr. Ahmed Sajoh, said: “Our attention has
been drawn to the purported resignation of the Deputy Governor of Adamawa
State, Barr Bala James Ngilari, which was supposedly read on the floor of the
State House of Assembly.
“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
Ngilari 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,” Nyako’s spokesman said.
How Nyako was impeached The removal
of the governor by the State House of Assembly followed the adoption of the
report of the seven-man investigation panel set up by the former Adamawa State
Acting Chief Judge, Justice Ambrose Mammadi to investigate alleged gross misconduct
levelled against the removed governor and his Deputy.
At yesterday’s plenary session, the
Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri read the report of the panel
to the members, and quoted section 18(a) of the Constitution which gives the House
14 days within which to deliberate on the report.
Mr Jerry Kundusi representing Gombi
Constituency then moved a motion that since the House has the required 2/3
Majority, it should commence debate on the panel’s report immediately.
Mr Kwamote La’on representing Numan
Constituency supported the motion and there was no dissenting voice, while the
House immediately commenced debate on the report.
At this point, the Speaker called
each of the signatories to the impeachment process to confirm their signature
in order to ensure the 2/3 majority needed is attained.
17 of the 25-member House of
Assembly affirmed that their signatures were authentic and they stood by it.
At this juncture, the report of the
panel was read by the Speaker to the members specifying the 20 charges
preferred against Nyako.
Four of the allegations were,
however, dropped by the panel for lack of merit.
After being found guilty of 16 out
of the 20-count charges, the Deputy Speaker moved a motion seconded by Jerry
Kundisi that the House adopt the report of the panel.
Consequently, the Speaker of the
House, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri stated that the House has satisfied section 18 (9)
of the Constitution, and that he, therefore, had no alternative than to declare
the office of the Governor of Adamawa State vacant.
The Deputy Speaker also moved a
motion, seconded by Jerry Kundisi that since the Deputy Governor has resigned,
the Speaker should be sworn in as Acting Governor.
The House in session unanimously
directed the President of Adamawa Customary Court, in the absence of the Chief
Judge to swear in the Speaker as Acting Governor for three months before an
election is conducted to fill in the vacant office of the Governor of Adamawa
State.
Before the commencement of the house
plenary session, the speaker read a letter from deputy governor, Bala James
Ngilari announcing his voluntary resignation.
In their reactions, Adamawa PDP
stakeholders, described the impeachment as the best thing to happen in Adamawa
State.
Vanguard -
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