In the past one month the embattled governor of Adamawa State has dominated the front page of newspapers in Nigeria over the move to impeach him by members of the Adamawa state House of Assembly. When the rumour mill was agog that members of Adamawa House of Assembly were hatching impeachment plot against the governor with the tacit support of the Adamawa State chapter of PDP, the governor and his kitchen cabinet were quick to dismiss the rumour with a wave of hand. Their position is that the governor is too solid for any plot to see the light of day.
Events in the past one month has proven that either the governor is still politically naïve or he must have surrounded himself with ‘yes men’ who for pecuniary gains intentionally hid the true picture of event in the from the governor. The impeachment move against the governor began behind the scene last year when Nyako joined four other PDP governors to defect to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC.
Unlike the other four governors that defected from PDP to APC, Nyako was unable to sway his deputy, Barrister James Ngilari or any of the lawmakers from the state to defect with him to the APC. His days in the Government House became numbered when the only remaining three members of the APC in the Adamawa state House of Assembly, Hon. Wafarninyi Theman of Hong Constituency; Hon. Simon Issa of Song Constituency and Alhaji Abubakar Jarengol of Mubi North Constituency defected to the Peoples Democratic Party thereby making the entire 25 members of the Assembly members of the PDP.
Prior to the defection of the Adamawa APC lawmakers to PDP, the two members of the House of Representatives from Adamawa State, Hon. Titsi Kwagha Ganama (Michika/Madagali Federal Constituency) and Hon. Haske Hananiya (Gombi/Hong Federal Constituency), defected to the PDP at a very critical time when the APC almost became the majority in the lower chamber of the National Assembly.
Unfortunately for Nyako, while the mass defection from Adamawa APC to PDP continued unabated, his kitchen cabinet never took any proactive measure to pre-empt any backlash from the mass defection. Nyako only woke up to appreciate his vulnerability after members of the Adamawa House of Assembly signed an impeachment notice against him and his deputy, Barrister James Ingilari.
The 20-count charge against the governor was so weighty that Nyako choose the option of hide and seek instead of collecting the letter and responding to the allegations to clear his name. The Adamawa lawmakers were very meticulous in putting the charges against the governor to ensure there is no leeway for him to get out of the quagmire.
Prior to the impeachment notice they had summoned four of the commissioners to appear before the House to give account of implementation of 2013 budget. The commissioners refused to honour the invitation leading to the Assembly declaring them wanted.
The police eventually picked up three out of the four commissioners, namely Lilian Stephen, Health; Lucy Ishaku, Agriculture and Alhaji Ahmed Gorko, Commerce and the Commissioner of Police, John Abakasanga, took them to the House of Assembly.The Commissioner for Land and Survey, Malam Abdulrahaman Shaibu, was said to be “still at large.”
The estimonies of the Commissioners were said to have indicted the governor who was said to have spent several billions without due appropriation by the House. The Assembly consequently served the governor impeachment notice over several allegations.
The alleged sins of Nyako are: (1). Fraudulent diversion of N2.3 billion Adamawa State workers’ salary for September and October, 2011. (2). Illegal deductions and diversions of the sum of N142 million emoluments of Adamawa State workers in May 2014. (3). Diversion of N120 million to sponsor fictitious visit of General Muhammadu Buhari to Adamawa State to commiserate with victims of insurgency in Madagili and