A member of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Salihu Usman, says he has fled the state over “the state government’s efforts to get at me for not supporting their moves against deputy governor.”
Mr Usman is the only lawmaker remaining in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House after all the others joined Governor Bello Matawalle in defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) last year.
He refused to attend the last sitting of the House last week during which 18 out of the 22 members voted to impeach the deputy governor, Mahadi Ali.
I am being watched
Speaking to BBC Hausa Monday morning as monitored by PREMIUM TIMES, the lawmaker said he was being watched by agents of the state government, possibly to arrest him.
“I am being watched by them. I know they are trying to arrest me because they believe I can truncate their efforts to impeach His Excellency, the deputy governor. For now, they want to arrest and detain me because they believe I can truncate their efforts in the impeachment process.
“Though I have not been told why they are looking for me, I am sure the state government is trying to silence me by arresting and detaining me. I don’t know the charges they want to level against me but I know that my life is in danger. I have left the state for them for now,’ he said.
Asked why he felt he could influence the outcome of the process when 18 members are supporting the move for impeachment, Mr Usman said the state government knows he was changing the thinking of some of his colleagues.
“I was already making an impact. I had started talking with some of my colleagues about the negative implications of what they are being pushed into by the state government. I had convinced some of them before the move to silence began. You know, I was telling some of them, ‘how could you allow them to use you against an innocent person?’ It could be any one of us next. Somehow, the state government found out that I was influencing some members and the hunt began,” he added.
Figment of Imaginations
However, Governor Matawalle’s spokesperson, Zailani Bappa, said Mr Usman’s allegation is a figment of his imagination.
He said the governor does not interfere in the works of the lawmakers because they are an independent arm of government.
“Governor Matawalle does not dictate to the Assembly. It is an independent arm of government. What is happening at the House is not His Excellency’s business. So, why would a state governor be fighting a lawmaker? For what?”
Contacted by PREMIUM TIMES, the press secretary of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Mustapha Jafaru, also dismissed the lawmaker’s claims. He said the lawmaker was only seeking relevance and cheap publicity.
He added that the House does not in any way consider him a threat.
“First, this is something that has been done. Majority of the lawmakers have voted in support of impeachment, the lawmaker making such noise did not even attend the sitting so how could a lone vote be a threat to 18?
“Secondly, the honourable speaker doesn’t practice politics of bitterness. He (Mr Usman) knows that the House works based on rules. So, what exactly is the threat to his life? Who is after his life and for what gain? As I told you, he has run to Abuja, granting interviews and talking in search of relevance and popularity. Nobody has ever denied him of his rights as a member of the House. He is a PDP member but none of his rights has ever been denied,” the spokesperson of the House said.
Rift over defection
The deputy governor, Mr Ali, parted ways with Governor Matatwalle after he refused to join the defection to the APC.
They had all taken their offices on the platform of the PDP after the Supreme Court disqualified candidates of the APC who had been declared winners in the 2019 elections.
The House had served Mr Ali the impeachment notice through the Secretary to the State Government before asking the Chief Judge to constitute an investigative panel to verify the allegations against the deputy governor.
Offences
The House, through its Chairman, House Standing, Shamsudeen Basko, said Mr Ali was accused of three offences.
These are “abuse of office, criminal self-enrichment using public funds and failure to discharge official duties.”
Mr Basko said: “Abuse of office. This includes Constitutional breach of section 190 and 193 (1), (2) (a)(b)(c), of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
“Criminal self-enrichment using public funds; includes criminal diversion of state funds, conspiracy to defraud the state and approval of dubious retirement in his office.
“Failure to discharge constitutional duties, which give rise to insubordination,” he added.
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