Alleged plot to impeach Gov Muftwang: Sacked Plateau PDP lawmakers, APC clash

The 16 sacked Peoples Democratic Party lawmakers in Plateau State and their All Progressives Congress counterparts, on Wednesday, traded words over an alleged plot to impeach Governor Caleb Mutfwang.

The state Assembly had been in a state of uncertainty over the fate of the 16 PDP lawmakers after they were sacked by the Court of Appeal.

In sacking the 16 PDP lawmakers, the appellate court declared the APC candidates as the winner of the March 18, 2023, House of Assembly poll.

The Court of Appeal had also sacked Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, on the same basis as it sacked the 16 PDP lawmakers but the Supreme Court, reversed the governor’s sacking by the Court of Appeal.

On Tuesday, the police cordoned off the road leading to the state House of Assembly within the Jos metropolis as supporters of both parties besieged the Assembly complex over an alleged plot by APC lawmakers to impeach the state governor.

Although neither the 16 sacked PDP lawmakers nor the APC members showed up at the Assembly complex on Tuesday, the development caused fresh tension in the state.

One of the PDP supporters, Mathew Danladi, who spoke with our correspondent on Tuesday, said, “We have been here since last night because we learnt that the APC members who are yet to be sworn in as state lawmakers following the controversial Court of Appeal judgment want to forcefully enter the state Assembly and impeach the Speaker.

“After that, they will go ahead to impeach the governor but we will not allow that. They want to take the law into their own hands; if not, why should they not wait for the outcome of the issues because the 16 PDP lawmakers who were unjustly removed by the Court of Appeal are presently in court over the matter?”

But the APC members, on Wednesday, denied any plans to impeach either the Speaker or the governor.

One of the APC members waiting to be inaugurated as lawmaker representing Mangu South state constituency, Matthew Kwarpo in an interview in Jos on Wednesday, dismissed any impeachment plot.

“Our members met yesterday with other stakeholders and we resolved to wait for the governor because we have met with him on this matter on several occasions and he promised us that we will be inaugurated. So, we are still waiting on that promise. But let me say that it is not true that we wanted to impeach the Speaker and the governor. We have no such plans.

“Presently, there are eight lawmakers on the 24-member Plateau Assembly. All seven of them are APC members and the other person who is from the YPP is the Speaker. At no time have those seven APC members tried to impeach anybody. All we want is to be inaugurated so that we can represent our various constituencies in the state Assembly in line with the Court of Appeal’s judgement which has declared us winners.”

He said they were ready to work with the governor to develop the state.

However, one of the sacked 16 PDP members, Timothy Dantong, insisted that there were plans by the APC members to carry out impeachment acts.

“What happened was that they (APC members ) brought some policemen from Abuja to the Plateau Assembly complex to help them gain access to the Assembly complex. The Speaker was informed and he went there to find out what was happening only for the policemen to tell him that they had come to offer security to lawmakers to have their plenary. When the Speaker asked them what the plenary was talking about he as the Speaker did not know about it.

“And that’s how the whole plan was thwarted with the Plateau people who also gathered at the Assembly to stop their desperate plan. You know that the lawmakers do not currently hold their plenary at the Assembly complex but at the old government House because the complex is under renovation. So, why would they choose to go to the Assembly complex to hold their plenary if there is no ulterior motive as they claimed? Anybody telling you that they did not have impeachment plans is not telling you the truth but all their plans will come to nought because they are not the representatives of the people.

“We have asked the NJC for a review of the judgement sacking us as lawmakers. The Court of Appeal has also constituted a three-member panel to look into the matter contrary to the five-member panels stipulated by law. So when our lawyer saw the anomaly, he objected to the number and out of annoyance, the judges said they had fined our lawyer N128m. We are still waiting for the appeal court to do the right thing by constituting a five-member panel to look into our matter in line with the constitution because it is not a tribunal but a review. But even at that, we are not expecting a favourable judgement from the court of appeal given our previous experience with the appellate court. But we are hopeful that when the matter finally gets to the Supreme Court, the law will take its rightful course and we will reclaim our mandate freely given to us by the people.”

Governor Caleb Muftwang

Credit – Punch