The Kogi State House of Assembly few weeks ago ignored all known norms to impeach the Deputy Governor of the state, Simon Achuba. Achuba, before his removal from office had had a running battle with the state governor, Yahaya Bello, over issues of governance. The outspoken ex-deputy governor paid the price for his opposition to the style of governance of the governor.
He was impeached following the submission of a report of a committee set up by the state chief judge, Justice Nasir Ajana, to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against the former deputy governor.
Although the committee did not find Achuba guilty of any of the allegations, which were deemed unproven, the assembly went ahead to remove Achuba to the chagrin of many.
Leader of the House, Hassan Bello Abdulahi, while announcing the decision of the House, said Achuba stands impeached after consideration of the report of the John Bayeshea committee submitted same day.
According to him, after the House received the report on a Friday, it deliberated on and arrived at the unanimous decision to remove the erstwhile deputy on the same day.
The seven-man committee headed by John Bayeshea (SAN) was set up in August following allegations of gross misconduct levelled against the Deputy Governor when he accused Governor Bello of withholding his salaries and imprest since 2017. The government denied the allegation.
Following his removal, the Chief Judge swore in Edward Onoja, Bello’s Chief of Staff, as substantive deputy governor of the state.
Achuba has since declared his impeachment as unconstitutional, saying that he will challenge it in court. The former deputy governor claimed that he was forcefully ejected from his official residence like a common criminal, despite his constitutional backing as deputy governor.
Although, the report of the committee went viral and showed that Achuba was cleared of the allegations of gross misconduct, the House Leader, Hassan Bello, accused the judicial panel of inquiry of compromise on the assignment giving them.
Bello said: “Based on the “Rule of Procedure” given to members of the panel, their assignment was a fact-finding one, and were not required to give any resolution.”
We are particularly worried with the impunity displayed by the House and the silence of relevant stakeholders to the brazen act. The Constitution of Nigeria (1999) gave clear guidelines on the process of removal of the deputy governors, governors, Vice President and even the President.
As ambiguous as the term gross misconduct is in the constitution, we are also aware that it stated that the person accused must be probed by the panel of inquiry and found guilty to be removed.
Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution deals with the removal process of such persons. It is instructive that subsections 7,8 and 9 of the section puts a conclusion on how the reports of such committee should be treated. It stated: “(7) A Panel appointed under this section shall – (a) have such powers and exercise its functions in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly; and (b) within three months of its appointment, report its findings to the House of Assembly and (8) Where the Panel reports to the House of Assembly that the allegation has not been proved, no further proceedings shall be taken in respect of the matter.”
The provisions of the constitution are very clear on such processes. We are not only disturbed by the haste with which the assembly concluded its process and removed Achuba but also the fact that the report did not indict the former deputy governor. Thus, the House, if acting with clean conscience ought to have adhered to the provisions of subsection 8.
We are concerned that that some governors have turned their deputies, who were elected on the same ticket with them as mere houseboys, who must be whipped and punished for any act of dissention.
Since 1999, many governors, deputies have paid the price of illegality perpetrated through their various state assemblies.
It is more disturbing when state assemblies that are supposed to be checks on the executive, turn themselves into lap dogs of the same with all impunity. The Kogi assembly, obviously, was dancing to the tunes played from the state’s government house. We recall the case of Sunday Onyebuchi in Enugu State, who was impeached under Governor Sullivan Chime, for rearing chicken at the government house. That is how low state assemblies have sunk in a bid to please their executives.
We totally condemn the removal of Achuba on flimsy reasons, especially when the panel did not find him guilty. Perhaps, the folly of the house’s actions could be found in the House Leader Bello’s accusation of the panel of compromise.
We are also worried that the All Progressives Congress (APC), a party that claims puritan status, could look the other way while the evil was perpetrated. We cannot subscribe to the resort to self-help, which the Kogi example clearly is.
We urge Achuba to head to court and enforce his rights. We must not allow this hard fought democracy to be reduced to a circus of clowns and egomaniacs, whose only wish is self-interest against state. We believe that the processes ought to be fair to all, not minding whose interest is hurt.
Credit: New Telegraph
