Mahdi Aliyu Gusau
Zamfara Assembly impeaches Deputy Governor, Gusau
After months of rancor over refusal to join his principal in defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC), reports indicate that the Zamfara Deputy Governor, Barrister Mahdi Aliyu Gusau has been impeached by the State House of Assembly.
In a unanimous vote, House, Wednesday, impeached the deputy governor who has sowrn to remain in the now opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) despite the State Governor, Bello Matawalle defecting since last year, in a move that has rippled into a political conflict in the state.
During the plenary, 20 out 24 members of the APC-controlled House voted for the impeachment of the Deputy Governor after the report submitted by the judicial panel of investigation found him guilty of the allegations levelled against him.
The panel had Justice Halidu Tanko-Soba as Chairman, with Oladipo Okpeseyi (SAN) , as Deputy Chairman and Abdul-Atadoga Ibrahim (SAN), Hussaini Zakariyau (SAN), Amina Tanimu-Marafa , Alhaji Sani Mande and Ahmad Buhari-Rabah , as members.
The report of the panel was read by the Speaker of the Assembly Nasiru Muazu Magarya and was adopted by members of the Assembly.
The panel presented its report to the speaker which was acted upon in removing Gusau from office.
Submitting the report, Okpeseyi said the panel had done its duty with utmost integrity and diligence and had compiled the report based on the evidences it gathered in the course of its duty.
According to him, the panel is not empowered by the Nigerian Constitution to speak about its report or make it available to any person.
Okpeseyi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the probe panel only produced two copies of the report and has visited the assembly complex to present the report to the speaker.
The panel, inaugurated by the Zamfara State Chief Judge, Kulu Aliyu, to investigate allegations against the deputy governor began its proceedings Monday afternoon in Gusau.
Meanwhile, Senator Muhammad Hassan Nasiha, representing Zamfara Central Senatorial District, has been nominated as the state’s new State Deputy Governor.
At the resumed plenary, the speaker of the House, Nasiru Mua’zu, read a letter from the state Governor Bello Matawalle nominating Senator Muhammad as the deputy governor of Zamfara State.
