Impeached deputy governor seeks Buhari’s intervention in Kogi crisis

The impeached Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Simon Achuba, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the political crisis currently rocking the state to prevent breakdown of law and order.

According to a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report, Achuba made the call at a press conference in Lokoja yesterday, shortly after packing out of his official residence.

He said that the president’s elderly intervention would save the state and the All Progressives Congress (APC) from an impending danger.

Achuba described his impeachment by the House of Assembly as act of extreme lawlessness, saying that he had instructed his lawyers to commence a judicial process to reclaim his seat.

He accused the executive and the legislative arms of government of treating him like a common criminal by calling policemen to barricade the entrance to his house.

The impeached deputy governor, who said that electricity supply to his official residence was also disconnected and power generator disabled to force him out a few hours after his purported impeachment, insisted that swearing in anyone else as deputy governor amounted to illegality and a breach of the constitution.

“My purported impeachment last Friday by the House of Assembly was unconstitutional and an illegality that will not stand the test of judiciary,” he said.

Meanwhile, the assembly has accused members of the panel that investigated the allegations levelled against the former deputy governor of compromising the assignment given to them.

The Majority Leader, Hassan Abdulahi, made the accusation in a statement he issued yesterday in Lokoja.

Based on the rules of procedure given to members of the panel, Bello said that their assignment was a fact-finding one, which did not require them to give any resolution.

“The panel submitted its report to us, and based on the report, we gave our verdict. The rule of procedure says that the panel was a fact finding one and as such, they were not to give judgment. They are not supposed to give any verdict in this circumstance. The decision of whether the deputy governor is guilty or not guilty is that of the House.”