How Governor Badaru’s N12 Million New Year Largess To Jigawa State Assembly Members Led to the Impeachment of Jigawa Speaker

The members of the state assembly have for long been nursing individual grudges against the former speaker whom many among them accused of being too greedy over what could have been ordinarily for all.

While some conceal their ill feelings against the former speaker for reasons best known to them, others claim that he is behaving in an arrogant manner to his colleagues in the assembly to such an extent that he hardly picks phone calls of some members.

These culminate at the series of offences leveled against the former speaker, which led to the commencement of the process that preceded his removal as the speaker of the assembly.

Sources close to the state assembly told Daily Trust on Sunday that there are more reasons than such misgivings that informed the decision to impeach the speaker as some members are said to be nursing grudges over his financial management.

It was gathered that the aggrieved members deliberately refused to state financial management as part of the reasons for his removal to avoid portraying themselves in bad light.

The key issue, it was learnt, has to do with the alleged misappropriation of the governor’s New Year gift or largesse as they fear that it may dent their image if they make noise over it.

Daily Trust learnt that the governor gave the members of the state assembly the sum of N12 million as new year gift. But the former speaker was alleged to have refused to show transparency over the disbursement of the funds.

This singular act, it was also gathered, did not go down well with majority of the members. Hence, the commencement of nocturnal meetings which led to the collection of 25 signatures in support of the move to dismiss the former speaker.

The members were also said to have grumbled over the N250 million approved for the renovation of the State House of Assembly in which the former speaker was alleged to have left the members in the dark while he unilaterally handled the project.

According to the source, these are the basic issues on ground that consumed the former speaker, adding any other reason attributed to his impeachment was just by the way.

The members officially stated that the former speaker was impeached for alleged high-handedness and arrogating too much power to himself.

Reading the notice for the impeachment at the floor of the house, the deputy speaker, Ahmed Garba said the session was necessary, following a notice that was circulated last Monday by the members of the assembly, calling for the speaker’s impeachment.

According to him, among other reasons that informed the decision for the removal of the former speaker was his rigidity, uncompromising disposition and unilateral opinion in implementing the decision of the assembly.

“We, the undersigned, the 25 members of Jigawa State House of Assembly have unanimously resolved to impeach, Honourable Idris Garba, as the speaker with immediate effect.

“He arrogates too much power to himself which led to a loss of confidence in his ability as a leader for effective leadership,” the notice added.

On the other hand, the impeachment saga revealed the long speculated crack in the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), where most of the party faithfuls have been holding grudges against principal officers for allegedly abandoning them.

The party leadership and the government have consistently denied the existence of any crack in the party.

From the beginning of last year, it is glaring that there are a lot of misgivings among party members.

Some analysts say the charged atmosphere within the party may not be unconnected to the struggle to control the party’s structure among the legacy parties.

Apart from President Muhammadu Buhari’s factor, the great deal of support received from the aggrieved PDP members led to the overwhelming victory recorded by the APC in the last general elections in the state.

However, the impeachment of the former speaker did not tamper with the power sharing equation in the state as the person replacing him is from same legacy party, the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) as well as same senatorial district, considering the fact that positions in the state are usually divided among legacy parties that collapsed to form the APC.

The governor of the state, having coming from the north west senatorial district, represents, the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN), his deputy, who is from north east senatorial district represents, the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). So, the state speakership position goes to central senatorial district which is zoned to the CPC.

The change in state assembly leadership may not necessarily affect the relationship the legislature and the executive because of the long existing harmonious working relationship between the two arms of government.

Though the change in leadership of the assembly for now has no inclination with friction-related issue with the executive, it is not yet clear whether the executive was aware of the plan before it was executed.

The question that remains unanswered how long with the current cordial relationship with the executive arm of government last? Only time shall tell on this question.

The new speaker, Isah Idris, who represents Gwaram constituency, promised during his acceptance speech shortly after his election to operate an open door policy.

The holder of Diploma in Business Administration, who said his election is a beginning of the new era, added that he is ready to give a purposeful leadership to the assembly that would create an enabling environment for working in harmony with the executive.

“Under my watch, I will not condone any inordinate activity. I am assuring the people of the state on the assembly’s continued support for harmonious discharging of our responsibility with the executive arm of government,” he added.

Source: dailytrust