The impeachment saga of the erstwhile Zamfara state deputy governor has raised political discourse across Nigeria. From the beginning of the process till date, the issue has generated a lot of commentaries from within and outside the state.
In fact, some prominent politicians have reacted to the issue. But many of them are just beating about the political forest without basis.
Among those who recently reacted baselessly is former Senate President Bukola Saraki. He said, “After 21-years of our democracy, when all leaders and stakeholders should be pursuing and encouraging all means to follow the constitution, the abrupt impeachment of the Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Mahdi Ali, without following due process just because he refused to join the ruling party is truly disheartening.”
Former governor of Anambra state Peter Obi also said, “Impeachment of Mahdi Aliyu Mohammed Gusau as deputy governor of Zamfara has no basis in law but is predicated only on toxic politics.”
This is unfair to the Zamfara state government and the state House of Assembly if really they stand on their words that the matter did not follow due process.
Ordinarily, these dignitaries and the likes are supposed to be mindful of their utterances when it comes to public discourse even if what calls for their contributions goes against their political affiliation, since they are leaders in this country. Therefore, they should have enquired further on the impeachment before commenting on it. In fact, their notion that the former deputy governor was impeached on political basis or that the process was illegally or hasty is wrong.
First, it’s not anybody’s fault that Mahdi abandoned his office and primary responsibility as the number two citizen of Zamfara state without seeking his principal’s permission or at least transmitting request or notice of same to the legislature but his.
The impeachment offences against the Mahdi include:
- Abuse of office by the former deputy governor Mahdi Aliyu which include constitutional breach that he failed and refused to perform duties assign by the Executive Governor of Zamfara state in accordance to section 193 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, assign as the chairman state economic management team saddled with the responsibility of fast tracking the economy of the state with a clear mandate to meet and forward its advice to the Executive Council for deliberation. However, no report submitted by the deputy governor with the exception of the maiden meeting, no meeting held, no advice forwarded from 2020 to date. That the former deputy governor Barrister Mahdi Aliyu failed to meet his statutory meetings intentionally without any meaningful apology or cogent reason, refused to attend Executive Council meetings or other meetings as provided under section 193 (a) (b) and (c) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended. The impeached deputy governor also failed to comply with section 190 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that he intentionally refused to act in place of His Excellency the State Executive Governor’s absence in the state as provided by section 190 of the1999 Constitution not minding the current security situation in the state.
- Failure to discharge constitutional duties. The deputy governor Barr Mahdi Aliyu absconded from his place of assignment abandoning his office and traveledl without recourse to his exalted office as no 2 citizen of the state. No communication whatsoever between the deputy governor and the State House of Assembly or his principal in respect to these trips. This, therefore, indicates clearly the element of insubordination and lack of respect to the constituted authority of the governor and the State House of Assembly and indeed the teeming populace of the electorate who use their time and energy to vote for him and his principal as governor and deputy governor of the state.
- Criminal self-enrichment using public funds. That the deputy governor Mahdi Aliyu diverted state funds to tune of N30,000,000 released monthly to his office as captured by the state Auditor’s report. The principal Private Secretary (PPS) to the Deputy Governor Umar Aminu collected the sum of 20,000,000 via cheque without any report on how the funds were used. This practice is in contravention to the financial regulation no 708. The Deputy Governor also conspired to defraud the state via his PPS Umar Aminu by providing fake and suspicious payment receipt for the supplied goods not budgeted in the appropriation law. For instances Muslim foundation a non governmental organisation’s receipt was used for the supply of Funiture for his office. These therefore, indicate that Deputy Governor approve dubious and criminal retirement of funds in his office .
These are the allegations:
On this note, at a plenary session on friday 04/02/2022 the chairman, Zamfara State House committee on Public Accounts forwarded a formal complaint against the former Deputy Governor to the Speaker of the House as required by the law as enshrined in section 143 of the 1999 Constitution as amended that notice of any allegation in writing must be signed by not less than one-third of the members of the National Assembly or the State House of Assembly as the case may be. In this case, eighteen (18) out of the living twenty two (22) honorable members signed the petition, which is not only one-third but much more than two-third of the members in the House. It is pertinent to not that the Zamfara State House of Assembly have twenty four members among whom two were dead and bye election is not yet conducted by the INEC to this effect.
On Tuesday 8th of February 2022, the Speaker Rt. Hon. Nasiru Mu’azu Magarya acknowledged receipt of the petition at a plenary session.
At another plenary on Thursday 10th February 2022, the Speaker directed the clerk to the House to serve each member with the allegations for them to study and report back to plenary within 5 days.
On Tuesday, 15th February 2022, Honorable Members of the House presented their individual report that genuine constitutional breaches were made by the former Deputy governor and resolved to vote for constituting a panel of investigation to try him on allegations leveled against him and eventually transmits their resolution to the State Chief Judge to constitute the investigative panel.
The state Chief Judge in accordance with the provision of section 188(5), constituted the investigative panel on Thursday 17th February 2022.
The panel swung into action and confirmed that the complainants (Honorable Members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly) proved two out of the three allegations they are accusing the former Deputy Governor beyond reasonable doubt.
Early on Wednesday, 23rd February, the (Rtd) Justice Haladu Tanko Soba Committee submitted its findings to the Speaker where the House studied it and went into plenary immediately and adopted the report in its totality and voted for the impeachment of the former Deputy Governor.
While this was going on in the House the secretariat transmitted to the executive the resolution of the House also vice-versa the executive wrote to the House the nomination of the new Deputy governor and was screened and subsequently confirmed by the House accordingly; Since a committee was set to investigate and He ( the Deputy former Governor Alh Mahdi Aliyu) was invited but refused to honour the invitation.
To the surprise of the State House of Assembly and the entire people of the state, Mahdi went ahead to file a case against the Zamfara State Governor, the State Chief Judge and the Speaker State House of Assembly to court with a view to having the mercy and blessing of the court to stop the investigation by a motion to revive the experte order. In essence to revive the expired status quo pronounced by a Federal High Court Abuja on 20th July 2021; the day he (Mahadi) filed the case. By virtue of the Federal High Court law the said experte order has a life span of fourteen (14) days.
Back then (July 20th 2021), the former Deputy Governor filed the case upon an invitation extended to him by Zamfara State House of Assembly to appear before it and respond to accusations that he holds a rally while the state was in mourning thereby breaching peace in the state. The State House of Assembly relied on section 128 and 129 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended which empower them to investigate any breach on all the matters that they can make law upon and peace of the people in the state is one of such matters.
The former Deputy Governor went and deceived the court while filing the said suit that he was not aware of any action similar to his case with the same fact, same claim, same relief sought and same parties elsewhere as at the time, knowing that having knowledge of any similar case will ease the said court off the case to avoid what they called DUPLICITY OF ACTION. Perhaps, his desperation in seeking the experte order might have clouded his judgement.
After granting the prayers of the former Deputy Governor, the court later learned that there were more actions similar to his case with the same facts, same claim, same relief sought and same parties in yet another Federal High Court filed earlier.
Barrister Mahadi as a critical stakeholder and leader of the PDP in Zamfara State must knew certainly that his party’s National Headquarters had already filed a similar case if he can pretend not having knowledge of the one filed by the former PDP National Secretary Sen. Umar Tsauri and host of others within and outside the state.
The court therefore relieved itself from the case and ordering Mahadi to CONSOLIDATE his case to the earlier suits in the other Federal High Court and become a proper party to the case. A proper party here means to join others in the case. An action the former Deputy Governor refused to take until February 2nd 2022, when the impeachment process came on.
It is important to note here that the Zamfara State House of Assembly’s earlier invitation to the former Deputy Governor was not on impeachment as he rushed to court claiming. The ground of the said invitation relied on section 128 and 129 which does not discuss anything about impeachment but the subsequent one that relied on section 188 is indeed an impeachment move; and the House stated it in categorical term.
As such, esteemed high profile Nigerian like Senator Bukola and His Excellency Peter Obi among others should either tell the world that they have advised the former Deputy Governor on what he should do according to the constitution to avoid being impeached or mince their words to avoid being beclouded by party sentiments and when the former Deputy Governor Mahdi Aliyu has been away from his official constituency without formal notification to the constituted authorities for almost 11 months where were those depending him today? Did they advised him to stay within the state and do the official duties for the benefit of the general public in the State?
Indeed, those who reacted in favour of the impeached Deputy Governor as Citizens of Nation and critical stakeholders of the PDP has right to react to what happened to their party member in the State. But they should not blindly reacted to the case without proper findings as all required processes have been fulfilled by the State House of Assembly to initiate the impeachment process against the former Deputy Governor.
Despite the fact that Barrister Mahdi Aliyu claimed to be a lawyer if indeed he is one, he certainly miss-used the knowledge and allow those behind him politically to occupy his talent and brainwashed him with ill-advices to face the impeachment issue at the wrong direction.
Therefore those with the perception that the impeachment was unfair should know that the impeachment of the deputy governor of Zamfara state was fair, with due process.
Mada writes from Gusau, Zamfara state
