The Nasarawa State Chief Judge, Justice Suleiman Dikko on Friday constituted a seven-man panel to investigate the 16-count charge levelled against the state governor, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura by the state House of Assembly.
During the inauguration of the panel at the conference of the state Ministry of Local Regime and Chieftaincy Affairs, Lafia, the chief judge urged the members to carry out their obligations in line with the 1999 Constitution.
The House of Assembly had on July 14 passed a resolution, directing the clerk of the House, Ego Maikeffi, to mandate the chief judge to raise a seven-man panel to investigate the governor over allegations of gross malfeasance and abuse of oath of office and breach of the constitution.
The chief judge, in his address at the inauguration, verbally expressed, “By virtue of the potencies conferred on me by section 188 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the letter from the honourable Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly with reference NSHA/MM/166 /VOL/ 1 /38 dated the 23rd July, 2014 requesting me to appoint a seven-man panel to investigate the governor, I hereby appoint you (members of the panel).”
According to him, the members of the panel were not members of any political party, and were to submit their report to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly in a fortnight.
He, however, tasked members of the panel to be just and fair to all sides in the discharge of their obligations.
Dikko verbally expressed, “No proceedings or tenaciousness of the panel or of the House of Assembly or any matter relating to such proceedings or resoluteness shall be regaled or queried in any court.’’
Members of the panel include Mohammed Sabo Keana, Rev. Dr. Joel Galadima (Rtd.), Alhaji Adbu Usman, Samuel Chaku, Mohammad Sani Usman, Pastor David Chaga, and Yusuf Shehu Usman as chairman.
The House members had on July 14, 2014 decided to accommodate a notice of impeachment on the governor.
After unsuccessful endeavors to access the governor, the lawmakers decided to publish the notice in some newspapers.
The 20 Peoples Democratic Party lawmakers, who had fled to Abuja since the impeachment moves commenced, returned to the House on Wednesday when they directed the chief judge to establish the panel.
Meanwhile, the governor had called on adherents of the All Progressives Congress to resist any endeavor by the state legislators to impeach him.
The governor verbalized this while addressing APC adherents who protested against the pergrinate to abstract Al-Makura.
He verbalized, “The resistance is predicated on the fact that the present regime in the state was democratically put in place by the Nasarawa electorate through a transparent election.”
He commended the people of the state for bringing his regime into potency.
He verbally expressed that the vicissitude in Nasarawa State in 2011 was what people desired and accordingly, he implored them to remain resolute and visually examine development in the state.
Al-Makura urged the APC adherents not to sanction anybody to tear the state apart.
