The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has rejected the verdict of the panel set up by the Nasarawa State Chief Judge to investigate allegations leveled against Gov. Tanko Almakura,the News Agency of Nigeria,NAN has reported.
Hon. Mohammed Ibaku, the House Committee Chairman of Information, stated the position of the house at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday.He said that the house had earlier expressed reservations over the composition of the committee and would therefore not recognise any decision taken by it.“We want to bring to the notice of Nigerians that the Nasarawa State House of Assembly totally dissociates itself from the decision reached by the panel set by the Chief Judge of the state which has cleared the governor of allegations leveled against him by the House.
“As far as we are concerned the governor is yet to be exonerated of charges leveled against it, we are not going to go to court because the matter is a constitutional matter that cannot be resolved by any court.“We will take a firm position on the matter in due course but we will follow the constitution, we will not act outside the constitution but be assured that the impeachment process is still on course,’’ Ibaku said.
He said that the actions and activities of the probe panel were illegal and a gross violation of the constitution of Nigeria.According to Ibaku, some people want to cook and eat the law and it will not be accepted.The lawmaker dismissed reports that the house had dragged the governor to the EFCC, noting that he had dragged himself to the anti-graft agency.He also said that the house would not join issues with the state chief judge on his refusal to reconstitute the probe panel on the request of the house.
“The governor has taken himself to EFCC already; the house does not need to drag him to the anti graft body, by his actions he has taken himself to court already.
“The house will not join issues with the chief judge, we will allow the law to take its cause on matters relating to his conduct, for now we are focused on the issue of the impeachment and not the conduct of the chief judge,’’ he said.
In a related development, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders in Nasarawa state have backed the steps taken by the state legislators in the governor’s impeachment process.Their position was contained in a communiqué signed by 84 members of the stakeholders’ forum, after its meeting on Tuesday.
“On behalf of the leaders and members of the PDP in Nasarawa State, we strongly reaffirm our support and solidarity for the constitutional actions carried out by members of the House of Assembly in respect of the ongoing impeachment process,’’ the communiqué stated.
The stakeholders condemned what they described as the culture of violence and destruction sponsored by the state government.They called on security agencies to provide adequate security for the legislators in the course of discharging their duties and called on the people of the state to remain law abiding.They, however, stated that the party would resist attempts by the All Progressive Congress (APC) to undermine the ongoing democratic process in the state.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that the probe panel set up the state chief judge had at its sitting in Lafia on Tuesday quashed all charges leveled against the governor.(NAN)
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