Nasarawa lawmakers want NJC to punish chief judge

The members comprising the 20 from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have been staying in Abuja since the impeachment proceedings they initiated on July 14. Eighteen of them showed up for the plenary session which lasted about 17 minutes and were joined by their All Progressives Congress (APC)  member and House Minority Leader, Tanko Maikatako.The 18 […]

The members comprising the 20 from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have been staying in Abuja since the impeachment proceedings they initiated on July 14.
 Eighteen of them showed up for the plenary session which lasted about 17 minutes and were joined by their All Progressives Congress (APC)  member and House Minority Leader, Tanko Maikatako.
The 18 lawmakers arrived Lafia in a motorcade which drove under tight police security and headed straight for the office of the Speaker where they remained till about 10:35 and entered the Assembly chambers.
They passed one motion and a resolution. The motion directed the Clerk of the House to write the NJC within 24 hours to cause disciplinary action to be taken against the Chief Judge, Justice Suleiman Dikko, for appointing a panel made up of “unsuitable persons” to investigate the 16-count charge of gross misconduct brought before him by the House.
 The motion was moved by the Majority Leader, Godiya Akwashiki, and seconded by Yahaya Ohinoyi. Akwashiki said the chief judge violated provisions of Section 188 (5) which empowers him to set up a panel made up of persons who in the opinion of the chief judge, are not of questionable character, not members of the public service, legislative house or political party.
 “You will agree with me that because we are lawmakers and we don’t want to match violence with violence, crisis with crisis, we have decided that we adhere to the rule of law and make sure we follow the constitution. We should write the NJC to investigate the activities of the chief judge because he made some mistakes and created some lacunas in setting up the panel”, he said.
The resolution came under Matters of Public Interest, and was moved by Mohammed Baba Ibaku for the suspension of a member, Tanko Tunga, for six months with half salary. He said Tunga had on July 14 when the 20 members initiated the impeachment proceedings against Al-Makura, tried to snatch the mace from the Sergeant-at-arms.
Meanwhile, Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, yesterday described the motion by the members as a desperate face-saving tactic. His aide, Abdulhamid Kwarra, said the motion was also a witch-hunt mission.
 “From the event of today, it is apparent that the members of the Nasarawa State House Assembly are on a face saving mission, having made futile attempts to impeach the governor. The members have now resorted to witch-hunting the judiciary in order to discredit it”, he said.
 Kwarra said the assembly, by the action displayed disrespect for the sanctity of the judiciary from excessive politicization, adding, “To say the least, the disgruntled members are trying to seek public notice and sympathy in an attempt that has obviously failed and therefore, they appeared to be very desperate. We understand their predicament and still call on the members to return home and resume their constitutional responsibilities.”
When the speaker, Musa Ahmed Mohammed, ruled on the motion and the resolution, there were no objections. But the Minority Leader, Tanko Maikatako, told Daily Trust soon after the session that there was no notification by the House for yesterday’s sitting, adding that the leadership violated laid down procedures. He also said: “There was no executive session and this is happening for the first time since the Fourth Assembly took off in 2011. They are knocking out the House rules and setting up strange rules to achieve a hidden agenda. I was not notified. The other three APC members were not notified”.
Spokesman of the chief judge, Enoch Ali Maku, declined comment on the allegations against his boss.