Impeachment:Panel Summons Nyako,Paste Notice On Govt House Wall

Governor Murtala Nyako got yesterday an invitation from the seven-man panel probing him for alleged misconduct.

Deputy Governor Bala Ngilari is also to appear before the committee tomorrow.

It pasted the invitation on the walls of the governor’s office and  the deputy governor’s in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

Friday has been set for public hearing by the panel, which was constituted last week by Acting Chief Judge Ambrose Mammadi.

The acting CJ took the step based on the request by the House of Assembly after it opened impeachment proceedings against Nyako and Ngilari.

The panel’s action is an indication that it had secured a venue for it sittings.

It was sacked by the J&J Hotel for security reasons after its Monday’s inaugural sitting. Throughout Tuesday, the panel was preoccupied with getting a place to use.

It was gathered that the members might have moved the sittings to the secretariat of the Adamawa State Chapter of the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria.

But the chairman of the union, Mr. Jeremiah Nkyekwar, said he was unaware that its secretariat was hosting the panel.

Also yesterday, the suit filed by Nyako and the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenging the impeachment process was stalled due to the absence of a substantive Chief Judge for the state.

The tenure of acting Chief Judge Mammadi expired on Tuesday.

He adjourned the matter till yesterday during the last hearing.

Governor Nyako maintained yesterday that he remained strong, despite the moves to impeach him.

Besides, said Nyako, he does not need the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan on the matter.

Based on allegations of corruption and nepotism, some members of the House of Assembly are pushing for Nyako’s impeachment.

The governor spoke with State House correspondents after attending the inauguration of the steering committee of the Safe School Initiative at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Stressing that he would survive the moves, Nyako declared that he would not resign from office – as being speculated.

Nyako, who noted that the state was calm, said he expected the lawmakers not to take illegal steps.

He said: “Well, it is in the court and the court said it was not well done. We are hoping that if they want to do it, they will do it following the normal process in whatever they want to do.”

On whether he had been trying to reach out to President Jonathan to rescue him, Nyako said: “Not yet. It has not reached that crisis point.”

He, however, did not rule out the possibility of calling for help from the President when the need arises, expressing hope that the man would step in since the state had also been there for the President.

“We have supported him all this time; he has supported us and in situations like these when Mr. President’s support is required, we will seek it,” Nyako said.

Asked whether some former Heads of State had spoken to the President on his behalf, the governor said: “That will be excellent.”

On the cause of the crisis, he said:” Adamawa is a very interesting place. If I tell you we have 87 ethnic groups and the two religions are fairly balanced, it means that being sensitive to each and everyone of us is very important. It is a place of intellectualism; everybody has his own point of view and you have a group of people who share a certain point of view. And until it changes, they will maintain that point of view. But we have been peaceful somehow and we will remain peaceful.”

Nyako denied the claim that he planned to defect to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which he dumped for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said: “Quite frankly, you know how I joined the PDP and partisan politics in the first place. It is not really my field. My field is known. You know what I was before. We are straightforward; have two distinctions: loyalty and disloyalty; two separate pieces. But one of the interior politicians told me that there are a lot of things in between loyalty and disloyalty which, up till this moment, I have not appreciated. So, for me, disloyalty with this type of attitude with Nigerian politics of today you are likely to step on toes of a few. “