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The opposition All Progressives Congress
has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of masterminding the removal of
ex-Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State.
The APC National Chairman, Chief John
Odigie-Oyegun, called a press conference on Wednesday in Abuja, where he
accused the President of clamping down on opposition in his desire for
re-election in 2015.
Odigie-Oyegun said, “Having bastardised
the army, the police, the courts, aviation and the electoral commission,
he has now moved to the next level: impeachment. Every impeachment or
threat of it in recent times has the imprint of President Jonathan.
“As we speak, the Governor of Adamawa,
Murtala Nyako, has been impeached at the instance of the President and
his party; they have moved to Nasarawa, their next stop, while Rivers,
Edo and Borno, all APC states, are not being spared the destabilisation
that precedes their new-found weapon.
“What was Nyako impeached for? Offences
he allegedly committed five years ago. Those offences were not
impeachable when he was in the Peoples Democratic Party. But the moment
he defected to the APC, they became impeachable.”
But the Presidency, in its reaction, said the APC allegation lacked substance.
It said the opposition party owed the President and Adamawa lawmakers an apology for making unsubstantiated claims.
The APC chairman said the entire process
that led to the impeachment of Nyako was fraught with “irregularities,
bias, judicial contradictions and in violation of every procedural and
constitutional provision” and that it was the worst manifestation of
impunity.
“We intend to mount an immediate and
rigorous challenge to this gross injustice to the party and people of
Adamawa State,” Odigie-Oyegun said.
The APC also said that the Nasarawa State
governor, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura, was being threatened with impeachment
over allegations of extra-budgetary expenditure, saying Jonathan had
serially committed the same offence.
It said, “In fact, only on the 10th of
July 2014, the Senate passed a resolution asking President Goodluck
Jonathan to prepare and submit to the National Assembly supplementary
budget to cover the expenditure in the sum of N90.693 bn (US$585 bn) for
petrol subsidy 2012 and the sum of N685.910 bn (US$4.430 bn) for
Kerosene (DPK) subsidy expended without appropriation by the National
Assembly in 2012 and 2013.
“Now, who is guiltier of gross misconduct
than a President who is frittering away our commonwealth to induce
perfidious legislators to impeach their state governors? Who is guiltier
of gross misconduct than a President who deploys troops to harass,
intimidate and arrest the opposition during an election? Who deserves to
be impeached for gross misconduct more than a President who uses
national institutions against the opposition and shuts airports
arbitrarily?”
Odigie-Oyegun, at the press briefing, was
flanked by other party leaders, including a former National Chairman of
the PDP, Chief Audu Ogbeh; and a former Minister of the FCT, Mallam
Nasir el-Rufai.
He said Jonathan’s desperation knew no
bounds, and that the President was willing to set a record of presiding
over the greatest number of impeachments under his tenure.
The APC chairman also said, “He
(Jonathan) is subverting hitherto respected national institutions. The
army has been so compromised that it can no longer be trusted by anyone
to be neutral. The army has been so abused that it now carries out
police duties.
“Soldiers were deployed to guard the
residence of the Chief Judge of Adamawa while the impeachment
proceedings were on. Soldiers were deployed to guard each member of the
impeachment panel. Soldiers were also deployed to guard the venue where
the panel sat.
“In Ekiti, soldiers were deployed to hunt
down the opposition and prevent them from moving around freely, in
contravention of the nation’s constitution. In Osun, soldiers are again
to be deployed to shut down the state and go after the opposition.”
The party said the President had been
flouting a subsisting 2005 Court of Appeal judgment which
declared
unconstitutional the use of the military for election duties.
The President’s Special Adviser on Media
and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said people of Odigie-Oyegun’s stature
holding sensitive positions must make only allegations that they could
prove.
He explained that the process of removing
a sitting governor was clearly stipulated in the nation’s Constitution
and only the state House of Assembly was given powers to embark on such
exercise.
He said, “Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, being
a mature man and a politician of many years, ought to know that there
is something in the laws of Nigeria called defamation of character.
“He also ought to know that in law,
whoever alleges must provide proof. He should not assume that because he
is playing politics, that that gives him the right to make
irresponsible allegations.
“People of his stature occupying such a
sensitive position must make only allegations that they can prove. Just
speaking politically and accusing the President of something untrue does
not protect him in the eyes of the law. What he is saying is absolutely
untrue.
“I think that members of the House of
Assembly in Adamawa State should feel grossly insulted by the APC
chairman, who is more or less making them look like persons who have no
mind of their own.
“Our belief is that those lawmakers are not children that can be pushed around by anybody.
“What needs to be stressed is the fact that President Jonathan has no hand in anybody’s impeachment.”
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of the
impeached Nyako remained unknown on Wednesday even as security was
beefed up in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, a day after the former
governor was removed.
Soldiers and armed riot policemen were deployed in strategic locations in the state, especially in Jimeta-Yola.
It was learnt that the heavy security
presence was to prevent a breakdown of law and order following the
removal of the governor, a decision which had polarised the state.
A police Armoured Personnel Carrier was stationed at the popular Police Roundabout with several policemen on guard.
Armed soldiers were also seen patrolling
the frontage of the Government House as well as the private residence of
the former governor.
The Adamawa State Police Public Relations
Officer, DSP Othman Abubakar, said there was nothing unusual about the
increased level of security in the state.
“We are not anticipating any breach of
the peace, people should not panic. The policemen are performing their
normal functions,” Abubakar said.
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