Written by AbdulFattah Olajide & Muhammad Abubakar (Bauchi)

Alhaji Garba Gadi yesterday lost his post as deputy governor of Bauchi State following his impeachment by the State House of Assembly, bringing to a climax the frozen relations between him and Governor Isa Yuguda. Gadi’s removal from office was executed in Bauchi while he was holding a meeting with President Umaru Yar’adua at the State House in Abuja.

The impeachment followed the adoption of the report of a 7-man panel constituted by the State Chief Judge Sabo Suleiman Darazo to investigate impeachable offences leveled against him by the state lawmakers.

But Gadi yesterday described the impeachment as illegal and hinted that he would contest it in court. “The next caurse of action will be decided by my lawyers. I just got the information,” Gadi told newsmen at the State House shortly after he emerged from a meeting between some leaders of the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and President Yar’adua.

“Honestly I have no reaction and I do not bother over the impeachment. I have expected it about six weeks ago. Therefore it is coming at the right time but the struggle continues,” he added.

Reading the report of the panel on the floor of the House yesterday, Majority Leader Dayyabu Chiroma said the deputy governor was found guilty in almost all the allegations of gross misconduct leveled against.

The allegations against Gadi were that he had collected two different estacodes worth millions of naira for a single trip to Saudi Arabia, and that he granted approvals to himself in respect of a request for cash backing of N2.2 million after Hajj operation.

The lawmakers also alleged that the deputy governor approved contracts beyond his limit for the renovation of Accounts Office of the Ministry of Education to the tune of N8.261 million and another approval above his limit to the Ministry of Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation for the improvement of agricultural activities to the tune of N114 million.

The report said during investigation, evidence was obtained from witnesses including former Commissioner of Poverty Alleviation and now Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice Buhari A. Disina and Commissioner of Special Duties Mu’azu Badara. It said the evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that the deputy governor was guilty of most of the allegations.

After presenting the report, the majority leader moved the motion for its adoption by the House. The motion was seconded by Deputy Majority Leader Auwal Jatau, after which it was adopted by 25 members of the House, while 6 other members abstained.

Speaker of the House Babayo Garba Gamawa said by adopting the report of the panel with two-thirds majority, the deputy governor was removed from office.

Gadi’s woes began when he refused to decamp along with Yuguda and most of the state lawmakers to the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The state lawmakers initiated impeachment proceedings against him by coming up with allegations of gross misconduct against him.

Gadi went to court challenging the constitution of the impeachment panel set up by the state chief judge, arguing that most of the members of the panel did not qualify to be on it because they were partisan. But the court on Tuesday ruled that only one of the members was not fit to be on the panel. The committee was reconstituted on Wednesday and within 24 hours it had submitted a report to the House, which instantly adopted it.

In his reaction, lead counsel to the deputy governor, Mr. Mike Osuman SAN, described the impeachment as unconstitutional because, he said, the new panel, reconstituted only a day before the decision of the House after the substitution of one member, did not listen to the side of the deputy governor.

He said the deputy governor was on a 10-day leave approved by the state governor and that the reconstituted panel did not serve him personally with the notice before it went ahead with its hearing. Osuman said he would advise the deputy governor to appeal to clear his name from the allegations.

One of the only four ANPP members in the House who refused to decamp along with 17 of their colleagues to the PDP, Alhaji Muhammad Aminu, said the removal of the deputy governor was a charade and only intended to serve the selfish interest of few individuals.

In his reaction, a resident of Gwallaga area of Bauchi metropolis Malam Yakubu Sani said the House and whoever was behind the impeachment of the deputy governor were not fair to him. But businessman Abubakar Adamu Osigwe of Dutsin Tanshi area said the deputy governor’s removal served him right because he should have resigned or follow his boss into the PDP.

Efforts to get the reaction of the state government failed as commissioner in charge of the information ministry Bala Jibrin told our correspondent on phone that he had no information regarding the impeachment.

There are speculations that the Speaker of the House may be compensated with the position of the deputy governor while former speaker of the House, Halliru Jika, who was removed about two years ago may return to that post.

http://www.news.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4470:bauchi-deputy-governor-impeached-while-meeting-yaradua&catid=46:lead-stories&Itemid=140

IF the guy really dont wanna cross the floor to the PDP, what was he doing with yar"Dull?

How many PDP'ers have been impeached so far?