Three Dead Over Impeachment Move Against Nasarawa State Governor

Latest reports indicate that three people allegedly lost their lives while one person was wounded in Nasarawa State on Thursday, 17 July, 2014, due to fierce clashes over the start of impeachment proceedings against Governor of the state, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.

According to a report published by the Leadership newspaper, the tragic clashes ensued between Gwandara and Eggon youths who were against each other over the impeachment proceedings being taken by the Nasarawa state House of Assembly against Governor Al-Makura.

It was gathered that the immediate cause of the fierce battle was when some armed Gwandara youths stormed the house of an Eggon man situated around Old Alamis Market and set it ablaze along with his car.

Many governorship posters of Information Minister Labaran Maku were said to have been pasted on the walls of the house.

Maku is of the Eggon extraction, whereas Governor Al-Makura is of Gwandara ethnic stock. The latter are considered one of the smallest ethnic nationalities in the state.

* File photo

While confirming the incident, Nasarawa state police public relations officer, Ismaila Numan, said the house was burnt in the early hours of Thursday but he did not confirm who was responsible.

It has been gathered newsmen that the impeachment notice served on the governor by the state lawmakers did not go down well with the Gwandara youths, who resorted to violent protests to register their anger.

A source, who did not want his identity revealed, informed that the Gwandara youths are of the opinion that the impeachment move was an attempt to remove their kinsman to pave way for an Eggon man to replace him.

The Gwandara are said to be accusing the Eggon elite of being behind the woes of the governor, leading to the impeachment process by the state legislators.

When newsmen visited the scene of the clash, one of the warring youths was seen with a deep machete cut in the upper arm as he was being taken to a hospital for medication.

Also, burnt-down commercial tricycles littered the area even as shops and other business premises hurriedly closed for fear of being vandalized.

Meanwhile, the wife of Governor Al-Makura, Hajiya Salamatu Al-Makura, has called on the people of Nasarawa state to remain calm as various women groups took to the streets on Thursday to protest the impeachment notice served on the governor.

Mrs Al-Makura, while addressing the protesters at the government house in Lafia, urged them to be very prayerful and not take laws into their hands.

* Governor  Al-Makura

“I would like to urge you all to intensify your prayers for God to take charge of the situation as nothing is beyond him to handle,” the First Lady of Nasarawa stated.

It could be recalled that the Nasarawa State House of Assembly had on Monday, 14 July, 2014, sat for only 15 minutes and passed a resolution for impeachment notice against Al-Makura.

The Assembly further directed its Clerk to serve the governor, saying that if he was unable to serve him with the notice, he should proceed to serve him through the media.

While answering questions from journalists in Jos, the Plateau State capital, on Thursday, Governor Al-Makura attributed his present impeachment travails to the handiwork of the Presidency in Abuja.

The governor made this statement through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs Abdulhamid Yakubu Kwarra.

According to the spokesman, the impeachment move is meant to destabilize APC-controlled states in the country.

“They are threatened by the monumental achievements of the APC administration in Nasarawa State; there is no administration that is as corrupt as the present PDP-led government in the country.

“Authorities in Abuja should stop the bull from entering a china shop. They are opening a new war front; they should address the issue of the insecurity and Chibok girls instead of chasing shadows in the country,” Kwarra said.

As at the time of compiling this report, the presidential spokesperson, Dr. Reuben Abati, has not responded to the development in Nasarawa state.

Source: Legit.ng