Isaac Shobayo reports on the allegation of the impeachment of Governor Jonah Jang by some members of Plateau State House of Assembly.

The relationship between the members of the Plateau State House of Assembly and Governor Jonah Jang is far from being cordial. In the past three years, speculations were rife on the moves by the lawmakers to impeach the governor.  But often times, these allegations turned out to be baseless.

Nevertheless, from all indications, the crisis rocking the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has polarised the lawmakers and divided them along what the people have tagged to be PDP 1 and 2.

Some of the lawmakers were said to be loyal to the governor as well as the PDP-led by Professor Dakum Shown, while others pitched their tent with the like of the former Governor Joshua Dariye, Senator Ibrahim Mantu and Sir Fidelis Tagun, among others, otherwise known as PDP 2. Those loyal to the latter group are also in support of the PDP caretaker committee, led by Chief Abu Shiluwa, which was set up by the National Secretariat of the party to pilot affairs of the PDP in the state.

The frosty relationship between the governor and some of the lawmakers reached its peak recently, when some members of the House of Assembly were squeezed by the Independent Corrupt Practice Commission (ICPC) based on the petition filed by some concerned citizens of state.

Some members of the House were grilled over alleged N440 million voted for constituency projects and it was learnt that the constituency projects were approved by the Assembly for its members between 2008 and 2009 at N20 million each. According to the petitioners, it was either the projects were not executed or they were haphazardly carried out. It was learnt that all documents concerning the constituencies projects had been retrieved from the clerk of the House.

The stance of the state lawmakers has been causing ripples in the state, especially within the political circle. There was the insinuation among those grilled by the ICPC, especial those against the governor, alongside their political camp, that the probe was masterminded by Governor Jang and his supporters with the aim of silencing the opposition in the House.

It was rumoured, before the lawmakers’ travail, that those against the governor in the Assembly had completed investigation on the finances of the state with aim of probing the governor to pave the way for his impeachment. Nigerian Tribune gathered that the lawmakers, since their return from Abuja, have been pointing accusing fingers at the executive, alleging that the arm of the government was responsibly for their misfortune and contemplating taking their pound of flesh from the governor.

Recently, there was an insinuation that the aggrieved members were billed to storm the Assembly to impeach the Speaker of the House, Honourable Istifanus Mwansat, considered to be a stumbling block to the impeachment of Governor Jang. It was gathered that the youths of the state, whose mobilisation and protest, frustrated the moves. But the Speaker, reacting to the rumour of his impeachment and the invasion of the House by youths, debunked the impeachment plot.

However, it is said that there is no smoke without fire. Though the Executive arm has kept mum over the ugly development, those on the forefront of the plot in the House have not denied the plot against the governor.

A source, close to the House, disclosed that the plan to impeach the governor was real; he stated that the tide has not been waded away completely.  The four weeks recess embarked upon by the lawmakers, shortly before the rumour of the impeachment of the Speaker, was linked to the plot and the belief was that the Speaker, alongwith some loyalists of the governor in the House, designed the recess to douse tension and probably frustrate the plot against the governor.

While the lawmakers were undergoing interrogations from the ICPC, there was an allegation that that the state governor diverted the sum of N3.7 billion, which was a rude shock to a lot of citizens of the state, considering the anti-corruption stance of the governor. However, associates of the governor perceived the allegation as a ploy by the opposition within the state Assembly and outside to embarrassed the governor.

Reacting to the allegation, the Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Honourable Chris Hassan, said the publication of diversion of the sum of N3.7 billion was orchestrated and sponsored by the opposition in the state tarnish the image of the governor and those around him.

Despite the explanation by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the state House of Assembly, through its House Committee on  Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, recently probed the alleged N3.7 billion diverted by the state government from the local government account.

The committee faulted the state government’s defence that it withdrew N150 million from the joint local government account to conduct local government elections, saying the House had appropriated N800 million for the state government to conduct the same election, and there was no reason for such withdrawal.

The committee, chaired by Amos Gombi, demanded to know who, in particular, got the lump sum of the N150 million that was withdrawn from the council account purportedly for the election. It also sought to know if the state government had got the approval of the Assembly before obtaining the N1.04 billion loans it took from a commercial bank in the state and demanded a proof that such approval had been given by the House before it took the loan.

The committee, which included Joe Bukar, Dinar Lar, Gyang Fulani, and Mohammed Adamu Dangyam, also demanded for details for obtaining the loan, including the terms and conditions for which it was obtained.

Responding to the quiz, Mr Hassan, who appeared in person before the committee, said most of the transactions happened before his term in office and that he was only going make available to the committee the records within his reach, while pleading for more time to put other records together.

He said he did not have the proof of the approval of the House with him, but that he would go back and check. He, however, maintained that the N1.04 billion loan was obtained with the consent of the then local government transition chairmen to pay salary arrears inherited by the present administration in the state. He further explained that the other withdrawals of N47.1 million, N106.1 million, N50 million and N150 million were for cash payments for local government staff. The commissioner was billed to appear again before the committee on September 2, 2010 for further hearing.

With the allegation of diversion of N3.7 billion local government fund by the executive arm of the government, the lawmakers appeared set for a showdown with the governor. While some political analysts perceived the ongoing probe of the fund as a ploy to get at the governor, Honourable Mwansat insisted there was no iota of truth in the statement that the probe was to set the stage for the impeachment of the governor, saying that the House Committee on Local Government was simply performing its oversight function based on the allegation.

From all indications, the House is presently divided over the issue and there is no sign of reconciliation, despite series of moves by some people to bring the two to a round table for amicable resolution of the issues on ground. Nigerian Tribune learnt that the aggrieved members of the House are waiting for the outcome of the probe before they initiated the move against the executive.

A source close to the House told the Nigerian Tribune that the Speaker and his predecessor, Honourable Emmanuel Goa’r, have been having series of meetings with the aggrieved members whose number was said to be increasing, on the need to shelf their plan of impeachment, adding that the speaker was told directly that he was an obstacle and might be consumed by the plot, if he refused to do the right thing.

Nigerian Tribune investigations also revealed that Governor Jang is fast losing grip on the House, as those against him are more than those for him. It was learnt that the opposition outside control the chunk of members of the Assembly. But the consolation the governor has is his developmental projects which dotted every nooks and crannies of the state.

But many were of the opinion that the governor might have lost grip of the House, but they added that the members of the Assembly, who seemed adamant to impeachment the governor could incur the wrath of  people of the state, if they eventually carry out the threat.