The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the impeachment of the Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Mr Simon Achuba.
In a statement on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, the party alleged that the action was done in violation of the Constitution.
“This action of trying to remove the deputy governor via unconstitutional methods and in total disregard to the verdict of the judicial panel is, in itself, a gross misconduct and grave constitutional violation for which the State Assembly, as an institution, ought to have removed Yahaya Bello as the governor of the state,” it claimed.
The statement came one day after members of the Kogi State House of Assembly impeached the embattled deputy governor in what they said was a unanimous decision.
In his reaction, Mr Achuba described his impeachment as illegal and insisted that he remained the deputy governor of the state.
On its part, the PDP slammed Governor Bello and accused him of being desperate to use underhand measures to “forcefully remove” the deputy governor.
“Our party holds that by coercing the State House of Assembly against the deputy governor even when the State Judiciary Panel acquitted him of all allegations, Governor Bello only confirms that he has lost public trust and now desperately resorting to dirty politics and crafty methods for survival,” it alleged.
It added, “The PDP, however, alerts that the next victim of such underhand methods would be the state assembly itself, which now appears to be on the way to being used to enact draconian rules to suppress and intimidate the people of Kogi State, since there is no way Yahaya Bello will win the November 16 election and return to office.”
The opposition party said the incident has reduced Kogi to what it described as a butt of jokes among compatriots in other states.
It noted that ahead of the coming governorship election, it was confident that the governor would be “kicked out of office” through the ballot box.
The PDP accused the governor of seeking to repress his deputy over the exposure of alleged impunity and corruption in his administration.
It said Nigerians expected Governor Bello to respond to the allegations by Mr Achuba and called on the citizenry to condemn the deputy governor’s impeachment.
“Nigeria is a nation governed by law and nobody, no matter the desperation, should be allowed to turn her or any part thereof, to Banana Republic,” the party said.
