Zamfara APC crisis: Intrigues as dep gov battles for survival

A new twist has been added to the political crises in Zamfara State after the State House of Assembly issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the state deputy governor, Barrister Mahdi Aliyu Gusau, to appear before it. The ultimatum followed a rally he held in Gusau, the state capital, shortly after his arrival from a trip […]

A new twist has been added to the political crises in Zamfara State after the State House of Assembly issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the state deputy governor, Barrister Mahdi Aliyu Gusau, to appear before it.

The ultimatum followed a rally he held in Gusau, the state capital, shortly after his arrival from a trip to Abuja.

The rally enraged the assembly members who said it was “insensitive” on the part of the deputy governor to hold such an event just when dozens of people were killed in bandits’ attacks in the state.

The relationship between Gusau and his boss, Governor Matawalle, became sour following the former’s refusal to join the governor during his defection to the APC recently.

Gusau remained in PDP and ruled out any possibility of defecting to another party. Many PDP stalwarts, including its former publicity secretary Alhaji Farouk Ahmad Shettima, remained with the deputy governor.

However, after the state assembly’s invitation which the deputy governor interpreted as a move to impeach him, he obtained a court order from Abuja, restraining the state assembly from taking further action against him.

But despite the court order, the state assembly went ahead to remind him of the deadline for his appearance before the house.

The deputy governor said the state assembly’s scheduling of a sitting to allegedly for an impeachment proceeding on Thursday against him was indecorous and unlawful.

Gusau also said the action by the state House of Assembly constituted disobedience to court order.

“As you are aware, my party, the PDP has instituted an action at the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenging the vires of Zamfara State House of Assembly as presently constituted to commence impeachment or any other proceeding against me as elected on PDP platform.

“The Federal High Court has granted an order directing the maintenance of the status quo ante bellum on the 19th day of July 2021. The court order was served on the chief judge of Zamfara State, Zamfara State House of Assembly and the governor of Zamfara State.

“Despite the foregoing state of affairs, the speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly and the House of Assembly have now embarked on steps and actions to overreach the pending suit, disobey the court order and render the effect of the suit nugatory.

“I’m constrained to draw the attention of the public to this ugly situation in the hope that well-meaning citizens and people of goodwill will call the Zamfara State House of Assembly to order and impress upon them the need to obey the subsisting court order,” the deputy governor added.

He earlier delivered a copy of the letter to the House reminding them about the subsisting court order.

The copy of the letter which was seen by our correspondent was addressed to the Speaker through the clerk of the House.

Meanwhile, the state House of Assembly yesterday directed its legal department to critically analysed the letter together with the  court order sent to it by the deputy governor, Barr Gusau, informing the House of his inability to honour the invitation sent to him by the House owing to a Federal High Court order.

The Director General, Press Affairs of the House Mustapha Jafaru Kaura, said the decision followed the reading of the letter duly signed by the deputy governor at the hallow chamber of the Assembly by the speaker, Hon Nasiru Mu’azu Magarya.

“When the letter was finally read, the speaker, Magarya allowed the House to debate it  and Hon Yusuf Alhassan Kanoma representing Maru North in the state House of Assembly faulted the content of the letter and the court order itself, pointing out that at no time did the House ever discussed or deliberated on the move to impeach the deputy governor,” Mustapha said.