By John Ugo
Amid heavy security presence, members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly on Wednesday impeached the State Deputy Governor, Mahdi Aliyu Gusau
He was impeached by 20 out of the 24 members who voted on the impeachment.
The Deputy Governor fell out of Favour with the state Governor Bello Matawalle when he (the Governor) defected to the All Progressives Congress on June 29, 2021.
Since then, Gusau has remained in the PDP.
The removal of the Deputy Governor came after a report submitted by the judicial panel of investigation found him guilty of the allegations “insubordination, abuse of office, and criminal self-enrichment” levelled against him.
The report was read by the Speaker of the Assembly, Honorable Nasiru Muazu Magarya.
Members of the panel include Justice Halidu Tanko-Soba as Chairman, with Oladipo Okpeseyi (SAN), as Deputy Chairman and Abdul-Atadoga Ibrahim (SAN), Hussaini Zakariyau, (SAN), Amina Tanimu-Marafa, Alhaji Sani Mande and Ahmad Buhari-Rabah.
Mahdi Aliyu, was said to be absent on Tuesday when the seven-man panel investigating alleged gross misconduct and abuse of office levelled against him, closed its hearing.
Investigations revealed that seven witnesses appeared at the panel, headed by Justice Halidu Tanko.
Earlier on Wednesday, the seven-man panel set up to investigate alleged gross misconduct and abuse of office leveled against Gusau had ended its sitting and submitted its report.
Presenting the copies of the report to the Speaker, Okpeseyi said they were not empowered to talk about the report with any one.
He said, “We have done our duty with utmost integrity and diligence and we have compiled this report based on the evidences we have gathered in the course of our duty.”
The Speaker of the Assembly said they would work on the report with the context of section 188 of the constitution. He then thanked the panel for discharging their duties in accordance with the law.
Members of the panel had sat at the State High Court 4, Gusau on Monday, Feb 21.
The Deputy Governor was not represented by any legal counsel throughout the sitting.
Justice Tanko lauded members of the public for their support during the two-day sitting.
Also Justice Abdul Ibrahim (SAN) a member of the panel assured of free and fair investigation.
“Our work will be strictly on constitutional procedure, we have given the parties opportunity to present their cases. We are going to embark on our deliberations; our timeframe is within three months. We will look at it critically and when the report is ready, we will present it to the state house of assembly,” he said.