Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako is one more step closer to impeachment, as a reliable source informed SaharaReporters on Monday that he has been indicted and recommended for impeachment by the panel that probed allegations of abuse of office against him on Friday and Saturday.
Nyako had snubbed the panel when it began sitting on Friday, and even though the panel adjourned till Saturday to give him a chance to defend himself, he failed to show up again.
The seven-man panel constituted by the acting chief judge of the state, Justice Amnrose Mammadi, today rounded off its work after listening to lawyers of the state assembly, Mr. Hussaini Maidawa and Mr Leonard Nzadon; witness of the House, Mr Wafarninyi Theman, who chairs the House Committee on Public Accounts.
On Monday, it was confirmed that the seven-man panel chaired by Malam Buba Kaigama indicted Nyako and recommended his impeachment. However, its findings and recommendations are yet to be made public. Chances are high that Nyako’s impeachment would happen any moment.
So likely is Nyako’s impeachment that the Adamawa State House of Assembly has denied reports that the House and the state government had reached common ground on the probe.
“The Speaker has not met or travelled with the Governor in recent times as claimed," Speaker of the Assembly, Umaru Fintiri told Voice of Nigeria through his Chief Press Secretary, Solomon Kumangar.
He added: “There is no iota of truth in the claim, as the Speaker and most of the Assembly members had been out of town since Thursday July 3 when the House adjourned for the Ramadan and Sallah recess."
He said there was no meeting between Nyako and any member of the Assembly as reported.
He implored the public to disregard such rumour and warned the media to desist from the kind of biased or provocative reports that could undermine the entire process.
“While thanking the media for their support, the House wishes to caution against biased reporting and appeal for fairness and balanced reporting, so as not to jeopardize the ethics of the Journalism profession.” Fintiri advised.
The Speaker called on the general public to remain calm as the law will take its cause at the end of the day.
In a last-ditch attempt to save his office, Nyako has filed an appeal at the Appeal Court, Abuja, citing improprieties in some of the impeachment procedures adopted by the House.