Nyako May Still Return To Office – Nigerian Lawyers

Following the impeachment of Gov. Murtala Nyako of Adamawa state, some lawyers have said the embattled governor could still return to office if he challenges his impeachment in court.

Murtala Nyako-Judiciary

Speaking yesterday with Daily Trust, a lawyer named Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) said the impeachment had a lot of constitutional irregularities.

Advertisement

Falana explained, “The police orderly of the acting chief judge was withdrawn and replaced with soldiers who forced him to set up the impeachment panel.

“The governor challenged the method adopted by the House of Assembly for the impeachment in court. The acting chief judge inaugurated the panel when his tenure had expired and in utter contempt of court, the panel and the House proceeded to impeach the governor.”

He added that the swearing in of the speaker as acting governor was illegal as Gov Nyako had not received his deputy’s resignation before his impeachment.

Another lawyer, Festus Keyamu described the impeachment process as politically motivated rather than for national interest. He however said the the procedure adopted followed the constitution.

Also speaking on the matter, a former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikeja branch, Monday Ubani, said the embattled governor can still go to court to challenge the process of his impeachment.

According to him, if some of the reports about the proceedings are true, all hope is not lost for Nyako who has a good ground to challenge the impeachment.

Speaking on the tenure of the acting governor before a new election, Ubani stated that the acting governor must conduct a new election within three months as stipulated in the  constitution.

The Governor Nyako, who was accused of misconduct and misappropriation of funds was on Monday, July 15, impeached, while his deputy, Bala Ngilari, tendered his resignation letter.