27 June 2009
Lagos — Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana yesterday alleged that the Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda has been instigating the Bauchi State House of Assembly to impeach his deputy, Alhaji Garba Gadi "for his principled stand which is anchored on political morality."
Falana in a petition to President Umaru Yar'Adua dated June 26, said the deputy governor was his client and that upon Yuguda's taking his decision to dump the ANPP, Yuguda allegedly directed his client to move along with him to the PDP.
Falana said: "Our client rejected the opportunistic directive. For daring to refuse to decamp to the PDP, our client has been subjected to untold harassment and intimidation by Governor Yuguda.
"In particular, the State House of Assembly of Bauchi State has been instructed by Yuguda to set the engine in motion for the removal of our client from office for embarrassing Your Excellency by not cross carpeting to the PDP of which you are the National Leader."
Falana said since his client's fundamental right to freedom of association was guaranteed by Section 40 of the constitution and Article 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, Yar'Adau would agree with him that the harassment being meted to Gadi could not be justified under the rule of law policy of the present administration.
"Our client's position cannot be faulted in the light of the case of Federal Electoral Commission v. Alhaji Mohammed Goni (1983) 2 SCNLR 227 where the Supreme Court condemned cross carpeting by political office holders which had bedeviled the political morality of the country.
"Finally, having just forwarded a Bill to the National Assembly aimed at banning cross carpeting by elected political leaders we have no doubt that you will restrain Governor Yuguda from further instigating the Bauchi State House of Assembly to remove our client from office for his principled stand which is anchored on political morality," Falana said.
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