Panel against Al-Makura ‘ready in one week’

The Nasarawa state house of assembly has directed Justice Suleiman Dikko, the chief judge of the state, to constitute a seven-man panel to probe the allegations levelled against Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.

The decision was taken during plenary on Wednesday, which lasted for about 20 minutes.

Mr Godiya Akwashiki, majority leader of the house and representative of Udege/Loko constituency, moved the motion for the setting up of the probe panel in line with the provision of the 1999 constitution as amended.

While the 20 PDP lawmakers voted in favour of the motion seconded by Mr Mohammed Baba-Ibaku of Nasarawa Eggon West constituency, all the four lawmakers of All Progressives Congress (APC) voted against it.

But for security operatives, aggrieved members of the APC would have snatched the mace so as to prevent the process from scaling through.

Having got the consent of the majority, the assembly directed the Clerk, Mr Ego Maikeffi, to ask the chief judge to constitute the panel within one week.

However, security was beefed up along the road leading to the assembly with heavily-armed policemen and armoured personnel carriers stationed in strategic areas and within the premises of the assembly.

Since July 14 when the assembly resolved to serve Al-Makura with notice of impeachment on allegations of “gross misconduct”, Lafia, the state capital and some other major towns in Nasarawa, have witnessed series of protests.

Meanwhile, the senior special assistant to the governor on public affairs, Malam Abdulhamid Kwarra, has insisted that Al-Makura has not been served with the “purported impeachment notice”.

He said that once the governor receives the notice, he would respond to it.