On September 26, an Imo State High Court presided over by Justice Benjamin Iheaka declared the impeachment of Prince Eze Madumere, the then deputy governor of the state, invalid and of no effect. Madumere had fallen out of favour with former Governor Rochas Okorocha after he signalled interest in the race to succeed his principal.
The deputy governor was impeached by the House of Assembly on July 31, after suffering untold humiliation and deprivations unleashed by the governor. Not even a ruling of the court, restraining the lawmakers from carrying out the impeachment dissuaded them from ousting the deputy governor.
Justice Iheaka noted in his judgement that the lawmakers had commenced impeachment proceedings against Madumere on July 11 while the state Chief Judge, Justice Paschal Nnadi, inaugurated the panel to investigate him on July 20 against constitutional provisions.
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A similar scenario played out with Mr. Ali Olanusi, who had his impeachment, as Ondo State deputy governor nullified by the Appeal Court on March 24, 2017. The appellate court overruled the decision of a Federal High Court, which struck out a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Mr. Olanusi to challenge his impeachment. Justice Muhammed Danjuma of the Appeal Court held that the impeachment of Mr. Olanusi did not comply with section 188 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
“Section 188 (11) of the 1999 Constitution as amended is not a weapon for the House of Assembly to police the duty of the deputy governor or to hound him out of office,” Justice Danjuma had said. Olanusi too fell out with his principal, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko.
Despite those court decisions, which underscored the penchant of state lawmakers to breach the Constitution, the Kogi State House of Assembly had recently toed the same condemnable path with its impeachment of Simon Achuba, as the deputy governor of the state. There had been no love lost between Achuba and Governor Yahaya Bello.
The Kogi lawmakers impeached Achuba on October 18 despite the fact that a panel of inquiry set up by the state Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajanah, had concluded that the allegations of misconduct against him were not proved.
John Baiyeshea, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who headed the probe panel reportedly described the impeachment, as a violation of constitutional provisions.
Baiyeshea was quoted as saying that, “As far as the report that we submitted to the House of Assembly is concerned, the committee returned the decision that all the allegations were not proved. What the Constitution said by section 188(8) is that, ‘where the panel reports to the House of Assembly that the allegation has not been proved, no further proceedings shall be taken in respect of the matter.’”
If the Constitution expressly stated this and the panel had turned in a report that did not indict the deputy governor, which statute did the Kogi lawmakers rely on to impeach him? We doubt there is any precedent beyond the impunity, which has characterised our politics over the years.
Indeed, we are bothered and all well-meaning citizens should be worried about public officials, overreaching themselves on constitutional matters. This disposition is not in any way aiding the growth of our democracy.
When a senior state official in the capacity of deputy governor gets hounded out of office in flagrant disobedience to the Constitution, such action is not just a mockery but threat to democracy.
A development in which lawmakers, who pride themselves as custodians of the people’s mandate choose to flout provisions of the Constitution, which they swore to protect, in pursuance of partisan interests calls to question the integrity and patriotism of these political leaders.
It is often argued that the deputy governor is an appendage of the governor and to whom he owes his loyalty. But we ask: Does that make the deputy governor a prey to be chased out of office at the whims of the governor in breach of the Constitution?
The ill-treatment of deputy governors featured like a sore thumb in those years the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was the ruling party. It has continued under the All Progressives Congress (APC), which was sold to the citizens as reformist.
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Unfortunately, the roughshod ride over the Constitution witnessed in Kogi went without the Presidency showing a troubled brow. Corruption, which the Muhammadu Buhari administration has trumpeted itself as fighting means more than dipping hands in the public purse or obtaining financial gain unlawfully.
Willful disobedience to constitutional provisions for a selfish political end is a worse form of corruption. A true reformist government will not tolerate intentional constitutional violations.
We demand laws that would deter this anti-democracy behaviour and ensure perpetrators do not go scot-free.
