The Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Alhaji Musa Ahmed, after yesterday directed the clerk of the House to serve Governor Tanko Al-Makura a notice of impeachment.

This followed a motion of public interest raised by the Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Mr. Yahaya Usman (PDP-Umaisha/Ugya) during the house plenary in Lafia, the state capital.

He presented a document containing allegations of gross misconduct against the governor, which he said was signed by 20 of the 24 members of the PDP-dominated Assembly.

“I am on my feet to raise a motion under the matter of public interest and I will go directly to read the document I have in my hand.

“This is a notice of impeachment of Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State for gross misconduct and for the violation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, today being the 14th July, 2014, the 20 members of the 24 members of this house unanimously endorsed to serve Governor Tanko Al-Makura notice of impeachment,” he said

The Chief Whip of the house Mr. Mohammed Okpede, (PDP-Doma North) seconded the motion.

The Speaker who officially received the impeachment notice said they acted in compliance with the provision of the constitution.

“In the event that his Excellency, Governor Tanko Al-Makura could not be reached for service, the clerk is directed to serve him with the impeachment notice through the media,” Ahmed said.

The house committee chairman on information and orientation, Baba Ibaku who spoke with The Guardian listed some of the impeachable offences of the governor to include:

• Embezzlement of local government’s joint account funds to the tune of over N2 billion, and

• Disappearance of over N700 million SURE-P money as well as N400 million flood money released in 2012 by the Federal Government to states affected by flood.

Each member of the House of Assembly collected about N30 million each to perfect the impeachment process against Governor Tanko Al-Makura, his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Barrister Mohammed Abdullahi, has alleged.

The assembly yesterday directed its Clerk, Ego Maikeffi, to serve the governor with notice of impeachment, alleging gross misconduct, following an endorsement by all the 20 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers in the House during a sitting presided over by the Speaker, Hon. Ahmed Mohammed.

Our correspondents, however, learnt that the notice was not received by the governor’s office.

Blueprint had reported on July 3 how the lawmakers met at a guest house in Asokoro District, Abuja, to hatch a plan to remove the governor.

Security was beefed up yesterday as the state assembly commenced the impeachment proceedings.

Policemen were seen in virtually every corner of the state capital, Lafia.

Although the house is yet to mandate the state chief judge to set up a committee to sit on the allegations but it alleges gross misconduct and extra-budgetary expenses by the governor in its notice of impeachment.

The notice was signed by 20 of the 24 lawmakers in the state during a sitting presided over by the Speaker, Musa Ahmed Mohammed (PDP, Nasarawa Central) yesterday.

The speaker also directed that Al-Makura could not be reached for service, the clerk should serve him through the media.

The 16-count charge followed a motion of public interest raised by the Deputy Majority Leader of the house, Mr. Yahaya Usman (PDP, Umaisha/Ugya).

Usman presented a document containing allegations of gross misconduct against the governor, which he said was signed by 20 members of the assembly.

“I am on my feet to raise a motion under the matter of public interest and I will go direct to read the document I have in my hand,” he said.

“This is a notice of impeachment of Gov.Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa state for gross misconduct.”

The Chief Whip of the house, Mr. Mohammed Okpede (PDP, Doma North), seconded the motion.

The Speaker said that the action of the house complied with the provisions of the constitution.

Nasarawa has 20 PDP lawmakers and four APC lawmakers.

Reacting to the development yesterday, Barrister Abdullahi accused the Presidency of being behind the impeachment notice, using proxies that included a serving minister from Nasarawa state, some National Assembly members from the state and a prominent politician from the South-south currently serving in the Constitutional Conference as henchmen.

The special assistant, who alleged further that the bribe was given to the lawmakers in US dollars on Sunday, also accused the state Deputy Governor, Mr. Damishi Luka, of “supporting the impeachment to actualise his long-standing ambition to become the governor with the speaker as deputy.”

But he said the plan might have died on arrival as the powers that be in Abuja preferred information minister Labaran Maku.

He said: “If this is not coming from the Presidency, why did the IG of Police deploy 160 mobile policemen to guard the assembly and the members to hatch the plan?”

It would be recalled that the deputy governor, about a year ago, defected from the APC to the PDP, a move that was viewed by many as signaling a frosty relationship between him and Al-Makura.

Abdullahi, who condemned the impeachment notice as “an act of gross disservice to the people of Nasarawa state,” added that there was nothing to warrant such.

Similarly, an elder statesman from the state, Alhaji Abdullahi Bako, expressed disgust on the matter, saying that interference in the state affairs by the Presidency was uncalled for and sad.

Bako charged those spearheading the impeachment move to have a change of mind, saying Al-Makura had, since assumption of office, ensured massive development of the state.

He appealed to politicians wishing to occupy public office to go to the polls and test their popularity rather than resort to impeachment threats.

The impeachment notice came on a day President Goodluck Jonathan commissioned the largest rice farm in Africa, situated in Doma, Nasarawa state.

However, when Blueprint spoke on the matter with the Press Secretary to the Speaker, Mr. Ibrahim Tanko, he said there was no point arguing over the matter, adding, “Let the person who made this allegation provide evidence to you if that person is sure of what he is saying.”

When asked what would be the next line of action, he said the next step would be appropriately communicated to every media house “when the time comes.”

•Pieced together from reports in Blueprint and The Guardian. Photo shows Governor Al-Makura.