SAN FRANCISCO, July 31, (THEWILL) – The lead counsel for embattled Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State, Chief Udechukwu Nnoruka Udechukwu (SAN), Thursday, hit back at the state lawmakers, saying their call for the dissolution of the seven -man investigative panel set up by the state Chief Judge, Justice Suleiman Dikko, to investigate the governor for alleged constitutional breaches, was ridiculous.
Udechukwu said it was impossible for the lawmakers to demand the dissolution of the panel under the Constitution..
The lead counsel, who spoke in Lafia, the state capital, said even the chief judge who constituted the panel cannot dissolve it unless with the permission of a court of competent jurisdiction.
According to Udechukwu, impeachment process in the country is strictly governed by the constitution even as he maintained that with regard to the Office of a State Governor, the relevant provisions are contained in Section 188 (1) to (11) of the 1999 Constitution.
Al-Makura’s lead counsel said: “Once the Chief Judge has set up a panel of seven persons to investigate an impeachment allegation under Section 188 (5) of the constitution at the request of the Speaker, the House of Assembly lacks any authority to call for the dissolution of the Panel set up by the Chief Judge.”
He maintained that “The Chief Judge has no constitutional power to disband the panel after setting it up under section 188 (5) of the 1999 constitution,” adding “He can only be bound to disband the panel in obedience to a court order by virtue of Section 287 (1), (2) or (3) of the 1999 constitution.”
According to Udechukwu, the 20 members of the House of Assembly who moved the impeachment process were acting in bad faith, saying they were motivated by base political considerations.
“In the first place, they did not serve any notice of impeachment on the Governor. They made no rules for the impeachment procedure and their call for disbandment of the Panel of Investigators was made outside the Legislative Chambers. What is on display is nothing short of Legislative impunity”, Udechukwu added.
The counsel noted that ideally, the legislature should be laying sterling example of statesmanship and not legislative rascality.
Maintaining that desperation and impunity would not advance the course of democracy anywhere, he said “the legislature can ill afford to propagate impunity and desperation.”
He added that the governor would continue to defend the mandate given to him in trust by the people of Nasarawa State, saying the Governor’s message to the people of Nasarawa State is to remain calm, vigilant and be law abiding.
According to Udechukwu, ” The Governor wishes to confirm his resolve to defend the mandate so freely entrusted to him at the poll by the electorate.”
The state House of Assembly had called for the dissolution of the investigative panel set up by the chief fudge to look into the allegations against the governor.
The panel, headed by Yusuf Usman, was set up to investigate the 16-count impeachment charges leveled against the governor by the lawmakers.
Calling for the dissolution of the panel at a media briefing in Abuja, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Mohammed Ibaku, said the panel lacked the credibility to carry out their duty.
He explained that the Assembly based its decision on a petition written by a group known as Nasarawa Concerned Citizens, alleging irregularities in the composition of the panel.
