The Adamawa State House of Assembly has engaged itself in a battle of wits with the judicial arm of government as it said that no court has power to stop the lawmakers from impeaching Governor Murtala Nyako and his deputy, Bala Ngillari.
Speaker of the State Assembly, Hon. Ahmadu Fintiri, made this disclosure to Daily Newswatch through his Press Director, Solomon Kumarga, who said that the ruling of the State High Court presided over by the State Acting Chief Judge ordering the Assembly not to serve Nyako and Ngillari, impeachment notice in national dailies as not acceptable.
Kumarga said that the House has started a countdown on Nyako’s impeachment from the day the impeachment notice appeared in some select national dailies.
According to Kumarga, "The issue of impeachment is constitutional responsibility of the lawmakers and the House of Assembly will not allow the judiciary to intervene in it because there is no going back over the impeachment exercise which the court lack constitutional power to intervene."
He cited Section 188, sub section 10 of Nigeria Constitution that enshrines separation of power within the three arms of the government.
He added that impeachment is a constitutional matter that empowers lawmakers to check the executive, an exercise over which the court has no jurisdiction.
However, some lawyers in Adamawa have chided the State House of Assembly for disrespecting a court ruling that said the Assembly cannot serve Gov. Nyako and Ngillari, Notice of Gross Misconduct through the media.
The Assembly had on Tuesday published in two national dailies and Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) the notice of gross misconduct against the state governor and his deputy despite a Yola High Court ruling presided by the state Acting Chief Judge, Justice Ambrose Mammadi, which on Monday refused the House of Assembly request for substituted service to the duo through the media.
Mammadi in that ruling in the suit filed by the Speaker of the House, Alhaji Ahmadu Fintiri, held that "the service of the notice of allegations against the respondents must be personal service", citing a Supreme Court judgement in the case of Inakoju vs Adeleke.
A cross section of the lawyers who spoke in Yola over the development expressed disappointment with the legislature for it’s show of disrespect to the judiciary.
The lawyers were unanimous in their position that the service of impeachment notice through the media was not only disrespectful to the court but unconstitutional, null and void.
"The service is unconstitutional, null and void. It is the same as there is no service at all. They just wasted public fund."
"The Assembly should not be emotional about this. The Governor and his Deputy cannot permanently stay away from office or state as that too will be an impeachable office," Wugira said.
Two lawyers, Yakubu Jimeta and Mohammed Salihu insisted that since the Assembly was the one that went to court in the first place it has no option than to respect court ruling or appeal the ruling if not satisfied with it.
Salihu said the three tiers of government comprising the executive, legislature and judiciary were meant to respect each other for sanity to prevail and democracy to succeed.
"If the House can go ahead to neglect the order of the court issued by a competent judge, that doesn’t speak well of a House responsible for making law."
"The House need to know that a judgement or order of the court is not made for fancy. They are made to be obeyed," Salihu said.
Another lawyer, Umar Ismail held that the action of the House was disrespectful to the judiciary and an invitation to chaos.
Ismail urged the House to do the needy as lawmakers and follow due process as provided by the law and the Constitution of the country.
An activist, James Musa, called on the National Assembly to take over the functions of Adamawa State House of Assembly in view of speculations that the Assembly was financially induced by a sitting governor of a Niger Delta state to impeach Gov Murtala Nyako.
Musa made the call in a petition to the Speaker of House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, photocopies of which were made available to newsmen in Yola.
"Unfolding events have eventually proved these speculations to be potentially true as the Adamawa House of Assembly has eventually issued notice to that effect already."
"I am also certain Hon Speaker that you will agree that no irregularity can be more grave and unacceptable than the acceptance of money by legislators either to pass legislations (no matter how desirable they are) or much worse to remove an elected official," Musa said.
He said the criminal dimension to the allegation against the lawmakers was a source of serious concern as it would erode or destroy the sanctity of the assembly.
Musa urged the national assembly to consider the plight of the good people of Adamawa who are yearning for peace and development by evoking the relevant sections of the Constitution that empower the National Assembly to suspend and take over the activities of an erring State Assembly.
He also called for the investigation of the allegation of graft against the assembly and the exposure of the governor alleged to have bribed the assembly.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Adamawa State has drummed up support for the members of the State House Assembly to speed up the impeachment process against Governor Nyako and his deputy, Ngillari, who is the party leader in the state.
The PDP stakeholders arose from an emergency meeting convened yesterday at the Adamawa State secretariat of the party in Yola.
Speaking one after the other at the meeting, the party stalwarts raised their voices in condemnation of “Nyako’s treasury looting” and intoned that the impeachment of Nyako and his deputy will usher in a new era of developments that have been denied the state since the inception of the Nyako led administration.
The Minister of Youth Development, a past governor of the state, Chief Boni Haruna, who also graced the occasion, said that he supports the impeachment not as a former governor or as a Minister of the Federal Republic but as an ordinary citizen of Adamawa who has seen how the Nyako government has plundered the resources of the state without any tangible project to commensurate with monies accrued to the state since 2007.
Former Minister, Idi Hong, opined Nyako is a canker worm that should be done away with.
Dr Umar Ardo intoned that no court can stop the process of impeachment. He advised that the House should ensure that “laughable” interference by the judiciary is settled.
Chief Joel Madaki, the state chairman of the PDP, said Nyako should have been impeached long before now, alleging that Nyako has converted state funds to personal use and must account for them.
"Why is he running," Madaki thundered.
The meeting came to an end with the PDP stakeholders agreeing to give the Assembly members any support necessary to ensure they succeed in their mission to salvage Adamawa.
Present at the meeting apart from Haruna, Hong and Ardo, were Zainab Maina, Sen Bello Tukur, Dr Ahmed Modibbo, Wilberforce Juta, M.C Tahir, John Elias, retired Air Commodore Dan Suleiman, Medan Teneke, Adamu Modibbo, Koiranga Jada, and a host of others.
However, a stalwart of APC, who was the former state chairman of the PDP in Adamawa, Alh. Mijinyawa Umaru Kugama described the PDP stakeholders meeting as gathering of ant-democracy elements who are in desperate mission to topple an elected governor for personal interest.
Kugama said the PDP stakeholders drumming for Nyako removal are those who don’t have the interest of the state at heart.
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