- He has case to answer – Assembly
- Governor rushes back to Abuja
There may be no soft landing for embattled Adamawa state Governor, Murtala Nyako, as the panel setup by the Adamawa State House of Assembly to investigate his alleged gross misconduct submits its report today.
Nigerian Pilot gathered that the governor has rushed back to the Federal Capital Territory, FCT at the weekend to tidy up loose ends with the lawmakers.
The panel rounded up its activities on Saturday at the Federal Secretariat, Yola where five of the 20-count charges were dropped against Governor Nyako.
The governor, who failed to appear before the panel, has however returned to Abuja for further negotiation with the legislators.
There were speculations in Yola, the state capital last night that the panel would indict Governor Nyako and his Deputy, Bala James Ngillari for failing to appear before it.
Secretary of the Committee, Mr. Eston Binanu, confirmed to Nigerian Pilot yesterday that the panel would submit its report today.
The Assembly was represented by its lawyers and a witness at the committee’s session to defend its position against the governor and his deputy.
Despite their failure to honour the panel’s invitation, Binanu pledged that the committee would be fair to all parties and urged the people to shun speculations on the possible outcome of its sittings.
After an endless wait for representatives of the governor and the deputy governor, the panel went ahead to watch a video clip tendered as exhibit and also cross examined the only witnessed presented by the House, Mr Wafarninyi Theman.
Counsel to the Assembly at the Saturday sitting, Barr Hussaini Maidawa and Barr Leonard Nzadon, who led Theman in evidence, concluded their presentations and prayed the panel to take their applications against the governor and deputy governor as a proven case of the allegations raised against them.
The panel’s chairman, Mallam Buba Kaigama, said the committee would take its time and do a thorough job before presenting its report.
Nigerian Pilot learnt that the Assembly dropped five of the charges against Governor Nyako because of the sketchy evidence it had on the allegation.
The House on June 18, 2014 preferred a 20-count charge of gross misconduct against Governor Nyako which 19 of the 25 lawmakers endorsed.
Among the charges dropped by the House was the one where it claimed that state government spent N120million to sponsor the visit of a former head of state who is an APC chieftain to the state to commiserate with victims of insurgency attack in Madagali and Michika Local Government areas.
In the second charge, which was also dropped, the governor was accused of awarding a fraudulent contract of over N8 billion through SNECOU Group of Companies Ltd, a firm linked to one of his wives.
Counsel to the Assembly, Barr Leonard Nzadon, who announced the dropping of the charges during his appearance before the panel, insisted that Nyako still has a case to answer.
Nzadon argued that the governor breached section 188 of the nation’s constitution as contained in the 15 remaining allegations.
He said: “We submit with greatest respect that there is abundant proof before this panel that there is grave violation of the constitution, breach of the constitution and misconduct within the meaning of section 188 sub-sections 11 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.”
Director of Press and Public Affairs to the Governor, Mallam Ahmad Sajoh, said the process of the impeachment was premised on illegality as such his boss could not grace it.
He faulted the then Acting CJ for setting up the probe panel, having granted an injunction restraining the Assembly from serving the
governor the impeachment notice through substituted means only for him to jettison the ruling made and constituted the panel.
The Senior Special Adviser to the Governor, Mr. P.P. Elisha, said that the legitimacy of the panel was questionable.
On the threats by the PDP stakeholders to sanction any of the lawmakers who retraced its step from the impeachment move, Elisha said the world should know that the saga was politically motivated.
Elisha added that the Adamawa PDP stakeholders in their desperation to takeover power at all cost had passed the verdict of guilty on Governor Nyako and his deputy before their trial.
In his renewed effort to avert his impeachment possibly this week, Governor Nyako, for the second time in one week, flew to Abuja where he pleaded with them to give him a second chance.
Elisha, who confirmed Nyako’s parley with the lawmakers, said he was not “leaving any stone unturned in resolving the crisis.”