What started as a huge joke a fortnight ago has finally turned to a reality as the out of favour governor of Adamawa State, Muritala Nyako was impeached by the state House of Assembly, in Yola, the state capital.
After an interesting horse trading and subtle political schemings, the Adamawa House of Assembly expectedly broke the ice by sacking Nyako after employing necessary constitutional procedures enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to sack the Chief executive.
Omnious signs that Nyako, a former Air Force top officer in the rank of Vice-Admiral, before joining partisan politics was waving bye to Government House, Yola, emerged early Tuesday when his Deputy, Bala Ngilari who was also hunted by the members of the state legislature, resigned from office. Apparently aware of what would befall him and his boss, (Nyako), Ngilari threw in the towel before the hammer fell on the embattled Nyako after he was found guilty of committing impeachable offences in the 16-count charge handled by a special panel.
While tension and anxiety reigned in the North East State of Adamawa where Nyako held sway in the past seven years under PDP before decamping to APC with the “runaway” five governors of the party with the umbrella sign, before the impeachment, Imo State that is thousand miles away from the North East state was feeling the heat with the state government jumping out to dictate the pace.
Moments after the resignation of Ngilari and impeachment of Nyako hit the media waves, governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha joined the fray in issuing a statement condemning the action of the lawmakers. While political observers are still waiting for further details from Adamawa on the resignation of the Deputy and Nyako’s ouster, a statement from Okorocha credited to his spokesman, took a swipe at the House members stating that “Inspite of appeals and steps taken by patriotic leaders across the country to make” them soften, they still went ahead to accomplish their mission.
According to the state governor, “the impeachment of the Adamawa State governor or any other state governor as the case may be, is not what the country needs this period following the serious security challenges confronting the nation at the moment”. The statement went further to comment of possible impeachment threat on governors of “Nassarawa, Edo, Rivers and so on”, of APC, adding that “it could be explained as bad politics of intimidation aimed at stifling the APC as a party and threatening our nascent democracy”.
Onlookers are disturbed that the Imo State government is fast developing a notoriety for adding its stake to matters that are beyond its boundaries and where it is expected to apply caution like other state governments before reacting. It is on record that while other states especially those of APC still watched with keen interest the unfolding scenario, Imo fired the first salvo to condemn the action of Adamawa lawmakers.
The hurried manner Okorocha issued the public statement on Nyako’s impeachment, and the antecedents of the Rescue Mission government in Imo State which the state governor is the progenitor, to impeachment matters necessitated this commentary. By the statement condemning the Adamawa lawmakers Okorocha carried the views of the generality of Imo people who may have reservations over the matter. More so, eyebrows would not have been raised concerning the reaction of Okorocha if he had spoken as chairman of APC Governors Forum, since the victim, Nyako is one of their own.
Accordingly, the essence of this piece is neither to judge the actions of the Adamawa State lawmakers nor the impeached Nyako since I am not in Adamawa state and may not be familiar with the internal dynamics, local politics and peculiarities of the area as well as the mindset of the playmakers in the impeachment saga. Imo state government by the statement may be accused of partisan proclivity in rushing to take a stand on an issue that the lawmakers’ claimed had strings of constitutional provision. Besides the victim, Nyako has declared intention to challenge the matter in a competent court of jurisdiction which is normal and accepted form of seeking redress in a democratic setting.
While Okorocha’s reaction did not spot any constitutional default or aberration of the law warranting an impeachment of the state governor, keen watchers of Imo politics will not hesitate to question the morality of the present administration in Imo State for daring to castigate the Adamawa lawmakers when Rescue Mission government of Okorocha is the first offender on impeachment matters. If impeachment has a history since 2011 election was conducted, Imo State government under Okorocha will be the flag bearers and the records cannot be kept without giving the regime a place in the looks. It could amount to a pot calling a kettle “blacky” and sheer hypocrisy if the Imo state government berate the Adamawa lawmakers for sacking Nyako.
Undoubtably, one of the shining trademarks obtained by the present administration is instigating impeachment against perceived political opponents and forces. The Rescue Mission set the ball rolling in vendetta mission using impeachment weapon hours after Okorocha was declared winner of Imo State governor after May 6, 2011 Supplementary Election to determine winner of the governorship election. Smarting from victory, Okorocha began an inglorious plot to victimize those he won in the election. Few weeks remaining for official hand over exercises on May 29, 2011, there was a grand design to remove the immediate past governor, Ikedi Ohakim and Speaker Emeritus, Goodluck Nanah Opiah ahead change of guard in government. This plot was hatched and master minded by the incoming government. A group of renegade lawmakers of the past House were cornered with easy lucre by the in coming government of Okorocha to destabilize the polity. The lawmakers after several private meetings with the governor-elect and members of his team intensified efforts to impeach Ohakim and Opiah even as they had few days to go in office. Their schemings continued but was unsuccessful when Ohakim who may have got wind of the plot acted fast to frustrate the impeachment agenda. However, the removal game plan became Okorocha’s cheering news when finally took over. The state lawmakers on May 31st, 2011 two days after Okorocha was sworn in and five days to the winding up the activities of the House stated for June 6, 2011 inauguration of the incoming House of Assembly members, the induced lawmakers acting an already prepared script from the new executive broke into the state Assembly complex in a bizarre manner to perfect their “dirty job”.
Enjoying cover up from the powerful arm who took over affairs of the state, the lawmakers flouted normal constitutional requirements to sack a speaker in Gestapo style and arbitrarily removed Opiah, his Deputy, Jonas Okeke and other principal officers without any check from from the Governor. Led by Ameachi Nwoha, of then Nwangele State Constituency, the lawmakers who could not muster the required 2/3 majority for impeachment of the Speaker of the House immediately reverted House Rules, Bills and Motion earlier adopted for the sake of the new paymaster who was on the throne and acted on it.
It is no longer news that carrots were dangled at the rapacious lawmakers by the executive arm who tempted them with juicy positions and payment of their severance allowances should they undertake the insipid task of removing Speaker Opiah et al.
At the end of the debasing acts, Nwoha who later arrogated himself position of speaker , Price Ugochukwu Nzekwe (Nkwerre Ifeanyi Agwu (Ehime Mbano) and Larry Ajaero (Ideato South) who were the tormentors-in-chiefs in the impeachment warfare against Opiah were handsomely rewarded with various forms of appointments by Okorocha as part of the bargain. While Nwoha got Special Adviser on legislative matters to the governor before his present status as chairman of Imo State Independent Electoral Commission, ISIEC, Agwu and Ajaero became SA on Due process and member of committee on Recovery of Govt properties respectively. Instead of getting their promised full entitlements, amounting to N4.7 millions, the 14 “favoured” lawmakers that could not make not the required 2/3rd majority in the 27-member House got only N1.5m as their severance for job “well done”. The remaining are still gnashing their teeth for losing out and turning to worthless instrument used for vengeance. Meanwhile, the victimised never got anything till date despite court order.
To show that the lawmakers were induced into the 2011 House of Assembly coup d’ etat, an Owerri High Court presided by the Chief Judge of Imo State, Justice Ben Njemanze in a landmark judgment quashed the impeachment of Opiah by Nwoha and co by declaring it null and void, stating that due process and normal impeachment processes were not followed. The decision of Justice Njemanze put to shame the action of the impeachment executioners and sponsors of the charade who have suddenly woken from slumber to antagonize the Adamawa lawmakers over Nyako’s removal.
Imolites will not forget in a hurry the Jpross contract brouhaha that enveloped the state in the first quarter of last year. In what could best be described as the hands of Esau in the sordid affair that rocked Imo those lamenting Tuesday’s removal of Nyako perhaps maintained incriminating silence when former Deputy Governor of Imo State, Sir Jude Agbaso was unceremoniously sacked by the Imo State House of Assembly for allegedly involving in bribery scandal with the Jpros owner, Joseph Dina. While I reserve comment on the process leading to the impeachment since the matter is receiving judicial attention courtesy of the aggrieved Agbaso who went to court, suffice it to say that Okorocha never cared to meddle into the affair as well as condemn the act by the state legislature who sanctioned his Deputy for only one controversial offence unlike Nyako found wanting in 16-count allegations.
Interested watchers of Imo Politics who are familiar with the intrigues and forces behind Agbaso’s impeachment will be miffed at the present position of Governor Okorocha who was not quoted to have either intervened or made spirited efforts to save his Deputy that was on a cliff hanger over the N458m Jpross contract scandal, a report EFCC reportedly rubbished.
I will end this work without a sizzling Igbo axiom which state “Onye si na imi nkita di ya mma, ka ebere ya nye ya” (Anybody who says he/she likes the nose of a dog should wait to eat it).
I will continue to advise those in charge of packaging Okorocha to desist from acts that will always put the state in public ridicule. The quick manner it jumped into the fray as Imo State governor rather than APC Governor’s Forum chairman is self-destructive and counter productive.
