Jonathan, PDP Contrived Nyako’s Impeachment-Tinubu

Bola Tinubu

Former governor of Lagos state and leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, has accused President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, of contriving the impeachment of the governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako.
Mr. Nyako, a member of the APC, was on Tuesday impeached by the State House of Assembly, which found him guilty of gross misconduct.
His deputy, Bala Ngilari, resigned his position even though he was not found guilty by the seven-member investigative panel set up to probe him and his boss.
In a statement on Friday, Mr. Tinubu argued that Mr. Nyako’s crime was not the false allegations contained in the articles of impeachment, but his decision to join the APC as well as his letter to the Northern Governors Forum, accusing Mr. Jonathan-led government of genocide against the North.
He alleged that the Presidency was rattled by the two incidents.
“The Presidency and the ruling PDP forcefully had their way in Adamawa. Governor Nyako has been impeached. Nigeria’s constitution suffers violence. Democracy has been setback”.
“Under the constitution, a governor can only be impeached for ‘gross misconduct.’ For the PDP, Nyako’s crime was not the false allegations contained in the articles of impeachment. To them, his gross misconduct was leaving the reactionary PDP to join the progressive APC.
“His misdeed was to exercise his constitutional right of freedom of association and political expression by leaving their corrupt
assemblage and joining the party that just may represent the best hope of rescuing Nigeria from its present descent into authoritarian darkness. Perhaps, Governor Nyako’s greatest sin is his temerity to speak truth to power albeit in a courageous way,” Mr. Tinubu said.
The former governor of Lagos State explained that the impeached governor on two different occasions gave an unvarnished insight into the Boko Haram menace and the insecurity engulfing Northern Nigeria.
According to him, at the Institute of Peace in Washington DC this year when he visited with other northern governors, Mr. Nyako placed the blame for the Boko Haran insurgency on the Mr. Jonathan presidency.
He added that the former Adamawa State governor followed it up with a detailed letter to the forum of the Northern governors in which he accused the Mr. Jonathan led government of genocide against the North.
“This rattled and unsettled the government, the APC leader said.
“Repeated attempts to have Gov. Nyako withdraw his letter and apologize to the President failed. From the moment he wrote that
letter, he became a marked man.
“The government savaged the governor through the media. This kangaroo impeachment is government’s way of punishing Nyako. The plan is to use the contents of the letter he wrote to the Northern Governors as a basis to try him for treasonable felony and eventually sentence him to life imprisonment.
“Nyako’s frank, if rough-edged, letter concerning the security situation apparently infuriated the monarch of Aso Villa who has
become so arrogant as to believe no opposition against him is justified, thus he has the liberty to impose his brand of injustice to
crush those who oppose him.”
Mr. Tinubu alleged that under Mr. Jonathan’s watch, Nigeria is gradually descending to fascism, adding “We must all act now before it consumes us all.”
He argued that in impeaching Mr. Nyako, the PDP abused the constitution and that the governor’s removal must be seen completely as political move to punish his and deter others from leaving the PDP.
According to the former Lagos State governor, the impeachment was a sanction imposed against political freedom and freedom of expression.
He added, “It had little to do with alleged financial or other wrongdoing. A view of the alleged charges against him reveals that his
purported wrongdoings revert to when he was still in the PDP, some dating back three years.
“His actions were known to the House of Assembly then. While he still adhered to the PDP, there was no talk of misconduct. Upon leaving the PDP, his actions suddenly became the meat for impeachment.
“There is only one thing new which was not then present. The governor’s political party affiliation changed. In the PDP mind, his
party change transmitted him from the list of those to be praised to the list of those to be persecuted.
“He gave green light to this move and winked approvingly as his minions poured cash into the pockets of the pliable Adamawa State Assembly members who would do their bidding.”
Mr. Tinubu recounted that Mr. Nyako was impeached the same day the PDP governors and National Assembly members scurried to Aso Villa “to endorse another term for their king is no accident.”
“This was orchestrated to appear that all the wind is at the PDP sails and that the APC has been stalled by PDP strong-arm tactics. They want to create the impression that all is well and that the president rides high on popular acclaim. But there is a large crack in their wall,” he aid.
“Because they profit from and love the wreckage they have done to us, the president and his subordinates delude themselves into believing the average Nigerian also loves them for the damage they have caused.”
The former Lagos State governor also stated that after over three months of avoiding the parents of the abducted Chibok girls, Mr.
Jonathan was shamed by the visit of a heroic teenager from another land, Pakistan’s Malala, into agreeing to meet them.
“However, after being shunned for months by the President’s cold indifference to their plight, the aggrieved parents refused to be
party to the President’s slick public relations game.
“The parents shunned the man who would not meet with them when they wanted to meet him.
“He only decided to meet them to gain publicity. The parents saw through his uncaring charade. They decided not to add themselves to the farce.”
According to Mr. Tinubu, in the universe of Mr. Jonathan’s political hacks and courtiers, the president could do no wrong because his pockets “are deep and seem never to run dry.”
“For him, this is popularity and legitimacy. But if he truly wants to gauge how the people of Nigeria truly feel about him, he would
seriously consider why the parents boycotted his meeting. These parents more accurately represent the mood of the nation than do all the processions of politicians who come to the Villa to lay themselves at the feet of their monarch.”
The former governor said Mr. Nyako’s removal from office was a temporary and costly victory because it revealed “more and more the undemocratic heart of the man who rules over the nation.”
He said Mr. Jonathan now justified his “illegal and immoral acts” by claiming that any show of dissent or opposition to him was the product of partisanship and thus not to be seriously considered”.