Mixed feelings have trailed the recent impeachment of three elected public officials by different state Houses of Assembly. TG writes that the wave of impeachments may sweep more officials out as the 2015 general elections approach.
Besides defection, impeachment perhaps
is the second most troubling phenomenon in Nigerian politics. It has
become a political weapon used by the executive or legislature against
perceived opponents, especially when relationships go sour or another
round of elections is approaching.
In this current political dispensation, this monster has reared its head recently in Taraba, Kogi and Bayelsa States.For instance, the Taraba State House of
Assembly on October 4, in Jalingo impeached the Deputy Governor, Mr.
Sani Abubakar, from office after adopting the recommendation of a
seven-member Judicial Commission of enquiry set up by the acting Chief
Judge of the state, Justice Josephine Tuktur.
The Mr. Usman Dangiri-led commission was set up to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against the deputy governor.While submitting its findings to the
House, the chairman said the deputy governor was found guilty of the
three allegations against him.
Subsequently, the Majority Leader, Mr.
Charles Maijankai, moved a motion for the adoption of the report, which
later led to his impeachment.
Also, on October 16, the Kogi State
House of Assembly impeached the Speaker, Abdullahi Bello, and 10
principal officers in the chamber.Prior to the impeachment, there was a
running battle between the speaker and some members, which made him to
accuse them of plotting to remove him from office.
Despite the fact that members of the
House were supposed to reconvene on October 18, 17 of the 25 members had
held a plenary two days earlier to carry out the impeachment plan. The
lawmakers elected Lawal Jimoh to replace Bello.In what looked like a revelation of what
might have led the lawmakers into the action, reports had it that the
Minority Leader, Yori Afolabi, had previously warned against a desperate
attempt to remove the leadership of the House.
He was reported to have disclosed that
the Executive arm of government was enticing any lawmaker who consented
to the plot with N15m.The embattled former speaker and
principal officers were said to have held a parallel parliamentary
sitting in Lokoja and called on President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene
in the crisis.
Consequently, an ad-hoc committee of the
House of Representatives set up to look into the crisis had on October
22 sealed off the state Assembly complex to prevent any of the factions
from sitting or performing any legislative duties.
The Chairman of the six-man panel,
Mohammed Ahmed, said the committee would not recognise any of the
factions, warning that if the committee members were unable to settle
the scores, the House might take over the legislative duties of the
Assembly, as empowered by the constitution.
Similarly on June 3, 2012, the Speaker
of Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr. Friday Benson was impeached by
16 of the 24-member Assembly three months after he came into the office.
He was replaced by a former Deputy Speaker in the former Governor
Timipre Sylva’s tenure, Mr. Fini Angaye.
But, the media aide to the sacked
Speaker argued that only 11 members of the Assembly took the decision at
a 30-minute closed door sitting, in the absence of the deposed speaker
and his deputy.
It would be recalled that the Assembly
had on June 24, 2010 impeached the Deputy Governor, Peremobowei Ebebi,
in what many described as the aftermath of the supremacy battle between
the then Governor Timipre Sylva and his deputy.
Ebebi was sacked after a seven-man panel
headed by Mr. Donald Denwigwe, SAN, found him guilty of nine out of the
ten charges of “gross misconduct” levelled against him.Maybe, the former Deputy Governor of
Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Nsima Ekere, would have been impeached but for his
swift resignation on “personal grounds” last Wednesday.
He was reported to have beaten members
of the State House of Assembly to their game, who had allegedly
perfected plans to impeach him, with the resignation.Reports have it that Ekere nursed the
ambition to contest the governorship election in 2015, which did not go
down well with some powerful forces in the state.
It would be recalled that in what looked
like an ironic drama, on August 2, 2010, the House of Assembly in Abia
State had impeached the Deputy Governor, Mr. Chris Akomas, three days
after he announced his resignation from office.
At a plenary, the Speaker of the House,
Agwu Agwu, had announced that, “Akomas stands removed from office with
effect from today.”It was reported that there was no dissenting voice against the process.
Akomas had swiftly reacted, describing
his purported impeachment as “medicine after death.” He said the
lawmakers only “exhibited legislative recklessness and disregard for the
rule of law.”He told journalists that he resigned on
July 30, 2010. He claimed that a seven-man panel set up by the state
Chief Judge, Justice Sunday Imo, on the orders of the Assembly, to
investigate him was determined to carry out its predetermined assignment
to nail him.
The way elected executive and
legislative officers are sacked by state Houses of Assembly have made
impeachments appear like a tool for supremacy battle.It would be recalled that prior to the
2007 general elections, five governors were impeached between 2005 and
2006. They were Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, Bayelsa; Ayo Fayose (and his
deputy), Ekiti; Rasheed Ladoja, Oyo; Joshua Dariye, Plateau; and Peter
Obi, Anambra.
The reasons for these impeachments and
how the processes were carried out have raised concerns about the
credibility and independence of the legislature, as some of them were
reversed by courts.Observers have accused political
godfathers and some state governors of manipulating the activities of
the legislature to gain more power and to achieve their political goals.
One of such prominent cases was in Oyo
State, when a conflict of interest broke out between the then Governor
Rashidi Ladoja and the late Ibadan political strongman, Lamidi Adedibu.
The governor was impeached by some members of the House of Assembly on
January 12, 2006, in a controversial circumstance, while his deputy,
Adebayo Alao-Akala, believed to be loyal to the godfather, was sworn in
as the new governor.
But for the November 1, 2006 judgment of
the Appeal Court, which declared the impeachment as illegal, and the
subsequent confirmation of this decision by the Supreme Court on
November 11, 2009, it would have been a lost battle for Ladoja.Unlike in the United States, on which
Nigeria’s democracy is modelled and where impeachment is given utmost
seriousness, it is fast becoming a norm in this clime.
For instance, while Robert Longley of
The New York Times, in his article entitled, ‘Impeachment: The
Unthinkable Process,’ said only four times has the Congress held serious
discussions of impeachment in the nation’s history, Nigeria has
recorded tens of such since 1999 to date.
Analysts have however blamed the
development on the interference and influence of the executive on the
legislature. They also blame politicians in public offices for their
disregard for the rule of law.
A lecturer in the Political Science
Department, University of Lagos, Prof. Solomon Akinboye, said the
constitution is clear on impeachable offences and the guidelines for the
impeachment of an elected official.
“Officials are sworn in to uphold the
dictates of the constitution. Where an official commits an impeachable
offence, the legislature can institute an impeachment proceeding but due
process must be followed.
“Ideally, it requires two-third of the
House to effect an impeachment but more often than not, due process is
short-circuited. The whole political set up is in disarray, as the
constitution is no more followed. Government officials now do what they
like and that is one of the absurdities in our political system,” he
said.
Also, the National Coordinator, Legal
Defence and Assistance Project, Mr. Chino Obiagwu, called for the
independence of the legislature, adding that an official must have
committed a punishable offence before he could be impeached.
“Executive interference in the
activities of the Houses of Assembly has remained one of the key factors
for the anomaly. You will recall that there were series of impeachments
in 2006. Once the leadership is influenced through its overtures with
the executive, its processes will become porous.”
Describing an average impeachment
process in the Nigerian legislature as one borne out of political
immaturity, a prominent legal practitioner, Prof. Itse Sagay, said most
of the impeachments have ulterior motives.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said,
“It’s just a sign of our political immaturity; we are still young and
infantile in democracy. Instead of allowing the speaker of an assembly
to carry out their rightful duties, what the lawmakers want to see is
how many “HIs” vote will increase their salaries and allowances.
“Committees are set up to attract
benefits from the executive through intimidation. Once the speaker is
determined to be principled, they are impeached and replaced with those
who will promote opportunism and with determination to make gains.”
Source:Punchng
