By our reporter| The Zamfara house of assembly on Wednesday impeached the deputy governor of the state, Mahdi Aliyu Gusau.
The lawmakers impeached the deputy governor during a plenary session following the submission of the report of the seven-member committee set up by Kulu Aliyu, chief judge of the state, to investigate the allegations against the deputy governor.
On February 7, Shamsudeen Basko, chairman of the house standing committee on information, had announced the service of an impeachment notice on Gusau.
According to Basko, the allegations against the deputy governor include “insubordination, abuse of office, and criminal self-enrichment”.
A federal high court in Abuja had fixed March 10 for a definite hearing in a suit instituted by the deputy governor seeking to stop the impeachment move.
But Basko had said the impeachment process is in accordance with section 188 of the 1999 constitution (as amended).
The lawmaker accused Gusau of failure to perform as acting governor when Matawalle was absent from the state, alleging that the deputy governor’s decision was aimed at creating a “leadership problem” in Zamfara.
“No court proceedings or order can stop the impeachment process initiated by the honourable house lawfully and in accordance with section 188 subsection 10 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he had said.
Governor Matawalle officially defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) On June 29 2021 from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The deputy governor, however, refused to leave PDP, pledging his loyalty to the main opposition party.
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