by John Alechenu and Umar Muhammed
Nasarawa State Governor, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura.
| credits: naijatowncrier.com
Members
of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly have said there is no going
back on the effort to remove the state governor, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura.
The state legislators said they would not
enter into any negotiation over the impeachment notice already served
on the governor. They also said they would embark on a protest in Lafia,
the state capital, on Monday (today) against interference by
traditional rulers in the state.
Traditional rulers in Lafia, including
the Emir of Lafia, Alhaji Mustapa Agwai, had on Thursday promised to
initiate a peace move between the governor and the lawmakers.
But the Chairman of the House Committee
on Information and Security, Mr. Baba Ibaku, representing Udege/Loko
Constituency, in a telephone interview with The PUNCH on Sunday, said that the impeachment procedure was still on course.
“We have started this. We cannot go back, no matter the involvement of the chairman of traditional rulers,” Ibaku said.
He denied insinuations that the state legislators had fled from the state capital.
“We are on recess, so we can choose to
stay anywhere we feel like. Even if we are not on recess, there is no
law that says we must stay in Lafia and the fact is that there is the
need for us to go to the chamber. We will go to the chamber and come
back,” he said.
The lawmaker confirmed to The PUNCH that
members of the House would stage a protest on Monday against any
interference by the traditional rulers across the state.
Ibaku said any intervention by the traditional rulers would prevent the lawmakers from carrying out their constitutional duty.
He said what happened in Adamawa State
would happen in Nasarawa if Al-Makura failed to respond to the
impeachment notice served on him within the time frame given.
Also reacting to the allegation against
the lawmakers that they had received N200m each as bribe to compromise
their stand, another member of the Nasarawa House, Mohammed Okpede (Doma
South) said, “Up to this moment that I am talking to you, I have not
seen the Emir of Lafia, Isah Mustapha Agwai, and none of our members
have seen the emir.” He said the allegation was false.
Okpede said, “We are counting the days. We started about five days ago and when the time reaches, we will respond appropriately.
“ We have the number of days stipulated
in the constitution and as soon as the time reaches, we will just go
back to the chamber and direct the chief judge of the state to set up a
committee of inquiry for the governor to appear.
“We are on recess. Everybody has the liberty to go to anywhere he feels like.”
Commenting on the proposed visit of the
leaders of the All Progressives Congress—Maj.- Gen. Muhammadu Buhari
(retd.), Bola Tinubu, and ex-Vice- President Atiku Abubakar to Lafia on
Monday (today), Okpede said, “That is their problem. They are
troublemakers and if peradventure they come, we are not going to join
issue with them.”
He said the APC leaders would not hinder the lawmakers from performing their constitutional duty.
Also, Babawi Chetubo (Karu/Gitata constituency), said that he was not aware of any threat to burn down the lawmakers’ houses.
The state chairman of APC, Philip Shekwo,
declined to comment, saying the traditional rulers in the state had
issued a communiqué on the problem after their meeting
Asked what would be the next step by the
party if the lawmakers disregarded the appeal by the traditional rulers,
the APC chairman said the party would know what to do when matters
reached that stage.
An APC lawmaker, Bala Adam, said that
members of the party in the House were optimistic that the issue would
be amicably resolved.
Meanwhile, a group, Peoples Democratic
Party National Alliance Forum, has called on the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission to as a matter of urgency freeze Nasarawa State
government’s account to avoid looting.
The Chairman of the forum, Jacob Chume,
who stated this in a statement in Lafia on Sunday, also alleged that the
governor had hired protesters from the APC states.
Meanwhile, the APC leaders, who had
earlier been scheduled to lead a protest march against the plan to
impeach Al-Makura might have shelved the plan.
Media reports had on Sunday indicated
that APC leaders, including the party’s national chairman, Chief John
Odigie-Oyegun, would stage an anti-impeachment protest in Nasarawa on
Monday (today).
But one of our correspondents learnt in
Abuja, on Sunday, that the protest had been shelved due to the
intervention of members of the Nasarawa State Council of Traditional
Rulers, who have joined in the search for a political solution to the
crisis in the state.
A top member of APC’s National Working
Committee, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak
to the media, said this in an interview with our correspondent.
The source confirmed that there was
indeed a plan for the party’s leaders to lead a protest march in Lafia
on Monday (today) but that such plan had been shelved.
He said, “I don’t think our leaders are
going to Lafia for the march tomorrow. This is because the traditional
rulers have intervened in the matter and they are trying to find a
political solution to the crisis. We are interested in a de-escalation
and peaceful resolution to the crisis.”
@punchng.com
