Zamfara: 18 lawmakers vote to impeach deputy gov

Eighteen out of the 22 members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, yesterday,  voted in support of the motion seeking to impeach the deputy governor of the state, Mahdi Aliyu Gasua.

Three days ago, the House said  it had served an impeachment notice on the deputy governor, a move that was condemned by the  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which described it as   undemocratic, illegal and assault on democracy.

Gasua’s trouble has been linked to his refusal to join  Governor Bello Matatwalle and other officials elected on the platform of the PDP in defecting to the  All Progressives Congress (APC) last year.

At yesterday’s sitting,  three APC members who were absent  were the only lawmakers not to have consented to  the impeachment.

The only PDP lawmaker, Salihu Usman (Zurmi East), who was also absent during plenary, has consistently opposed the  impeachment.

Speaker of the House,  Mu’azu Magarya, was excluded from the final voting which saw  18 members present voting  in support of the motion.

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After the voting,  the House asked the State Chief Judge, Kulu Aliyu, to constitute a panel to investigate the allegations against the deputy governor.

The House noted that the deputy governor would be investigated for breaching Sections 190 and 193 (1), (2) (a)(b)(c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

However, Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) of the PDP, Senator Walid Jibrin recently warned  members of Zamfara State House of Assembly to drop the impeachment move, describing it as a misplaced priority.

“I wish to warn the Zamfara State House Assembly in their efforts to impeach the Zamfara State Deputy governor as doing so will encourage injustice, unfairness, and surely uninstability in the State.

“Instead of the planned impeachment they should concentrate on making better legislation for the betterment of the people of the state and curbing insecurity.

“The people of Zamfara State certainly don’t support impeachment rather they want lawmakers to deal deeply in finding solutions to the increase insecurity in the state. The PDP is certainly with the Deputy Governor of the State, Alhaji Mahdi Aliyu”. The statement said.

Sun