Saka Ibrahim
15 November 2008
Kebbi — The Speaker of the Kebbi State House of Assembly, Honorable Isah Umar Mungadi and his deputy, Hon. Sani Daudu Tadurga were late Thursday impeached by members of the House.
The House immediately elected Hon. Musa Habib Jega as the new Speaker and Hon. Garba Rabiu Bena as Deputy Speaker.
The House Chief Whip, Hon. Shehu Aliyu Yauri while briefing the press yesterday said the duo who are loyalists of former Governor Adamu Aliero were impeached on Thursday night by 17 out of the 24 members of the House.
But the former Speaker while reacting to his impeachment said he remained the Speaker until due process was followed and alleged that the state government was behind "the so- called impeachment."
The Chief Whip stated that the former Speaker and his Deputy were impeached for two reasons: "Lack of information on issues affecting the House and its members, and refusal to carry other members along in the decision making process since they took over the leadership of the house."
The Chief Whip denied insinuations that the state government tele-guided the impeachment move because both Honorable Mungadi and Tadurga are supporters of former Governor Adamu Aliero and are against the second term of Governor Saidu Dakingari.
Said Yauri: "We carried out the impeachment in line with laid down procedures and the constitution. We have talked to them several times but they have not changed. We had to impeach them in order to move the House forward."
He appealed to the general public to see the impeachment as a way forward and should continue to support the House's deliberations as a different arm of government.
But the former Speaker alleged that the state government was behind the impeachment, because of the bid to secure a second term for Governor Dakingari, adding that the impeachment was illegal because "it was carried out outside the State House of Assembly, at night and in the home of one of the 17 lawmakers loyal to Governor Dakingari."
Honorable Mungadi said he was not opposed to a second term for Governor Dakingari but only advised the members that the campaign for a second term was too early.
Said the former Speaker: "As far as I am concerned, I am still the Speaker of the Kebbi State House of Assembly. Those who signed the impeachment paper did so in the name of a second term for Governor Dakingari. My own brother was also forced to sign the paper in the name of two terms."
Honorable Mungadi denied belonging to the Aliero group because both Dakingari and Aliero were his seniors at the Government Secondary School, Koko.
The former Speaker called on the general public to disregard the new Speaker and his Deputy as elected, describing the impeachment as a big joke.
Governor Dakingari in a text message to journalists in the state yesterday through his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Abdullahi Zuru denied insinuations that he had a hand in the impeachment exercise, saying "it is the House of Assembly's affair."
Dakingari said the allegations over his involvement in their impeachment was untrue and unfortunate.
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When public figures lie they do so in the belief that the public is stupid not to see through their lies. For DAKINGARI who swears to be a godly person to continue to lie about his cowardly war against Aliero's men baffles me. I am waiting to see how these lies will come to hunt him in 2011.I am wondering if for the whole of his tunure all that can be heard of him is baout his lies against Aliero. Saidu worships marabouts forgeting that those marabouts did not and will not vote for him. Please let somebody tell him that the public needs to know if he went to school and can speak English. I have not heard him say a word about any national issue since he became a Governor.I am hoping that Thisday will ask Nigerians to vote for the dumbest Governor