FG plotting to sack Nasarawa governor, say APC governors

Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum has alleged that the Presidency is plotting to impeach Governor Umar Tanko Al-Makura of Nassarawa State.

A report in a national newspaper yesterday had indicated that the Presidency is plotting to remove the Governor who was elected into office on the platform of Congress for Progressive Change one of the legacy parties of opposition All Progressives Congress, using the State House of Assembly which is dominated by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

APC has five members in the State House of Assembly while PDP has 19.

According to the report, the plan is to replace the APC Governor with his Deputy Dameshi Barau Luka who will then defect to PDP ahead of 2015 elections.

The Governor and his deputy have not enjoyed the best of relationship in the past few months.

This, it was gathered, was because Luka is believed to be romancing the PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan. Indeed, the Deputy Governor was suspended by the Nasarawa chapter of APC after he condemned the recent order of the party to its lawmakers at the National Assembly to block all executive bills.

According to reports, the State House of Assembly set the processes of the impeachment of the Governor in motion with the setting up an ad hoc committee to look into reports presented by four of its standing committees which carried out on oversight of the government between May and November of 2013.

The committees had in their reports accused the government of various financial misconduct including extra-budgetary spending and misappropriation.

It was also reported that the impeachment notice has been signed by 22 of the 24 state lawmakers.

Ahmed Gulak, Special Adviser to President Jonathan confirmed that the deputy governor has decided to decamp to PDP, but denied knowledge of the impeachment plans.

But after their meeting which ended in the early hours of this morning, the Governor Rotimi Amaechi led NGF condemned the move to impeach the Governor.

, “It has come to our notice that the Presidency is plotting to illegally impeach the Governor of Nasarawa State, Mr. Tanko Al-Makura,” NGF said in its four paragraph communique read by Governor Amaechi.

“We condemn this renewed assault on constitutional democracy,” it added.

The governors also said the suspension of the Governor of Central Bank, Malam Sanusi Lamido by President Goodluck Jonathan was unconstitutional and aimed at cover up allegations that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC had failed to remit $20 billion into the federation account.

“The suspension of Sanusi by Mr. President is in clear breach of the Nigerian Constitution and the CBN Act, 2007.

“The suspension is aimed at diverting attention from the current national discourse on the allegations of corruption and questionable accountability.

“We support the call of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the Senate Committee on Finance for a forensic audit of the NNPC Account”.

The Governor Forum also said they are concerned concern refusal of the presidency to convene the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting in the past seven months.

It also called on the Supreme Court to accelerate hearing on the constitutional cases especially the case of the excess crude account and illegal deductions on oil subsidy.

The refusal to convene the NEC meeting, according to the Governors, had scuttled the opportunity to discuss the “perilous state of the Nigerian economy thus plunging the nation into an economic and political crisis”.

NGF also appealed to the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, to accelerate the hearing on all constitutional cases especially the suit on the Excess Crude Account and other illegal deductions.

The Forum also condemned wanton destruction of lives and property in Borno State and in North East in general, but commended ongoing efforts of the military and other security agencies to quell the insurgency.

NGF also called on the Federal Government to rise up to the responsibility of protecting lives and property in the country, especially in the troubled North-East region.

The meeting was attended by governors Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Tanko Al Makura (Nasarawa), Rochas Okorocha, (Imo state,) Aliyu Wamakko (sokoto) and the deputy governors of Edo, Osun and Borno states.