John Baiyeshea, chairman of the panel that was set up to investigate allegations against the impeached Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Simon Achuba has disclosed that they couldn’t prove the allegation he was impeached for.
Recall that Simon Achuba who has been at loggerheads with Governor Yahaya Bello was impeached on Friday October 18, by the Kogi State House of Assembly on allegation of financial misappropriation, “deliberate disdain” for decisions of Kogi executive council and absconding from official duties among others.
The Panel’s chairman described the impeachment as “the most bizarre thing that I have ever heard in my life”, and also disclosed that their report was submitted when the house was not in session.
He added that it was not possible for the lawmakers to impeach Achuba since they couldn’t prove the allegation against him.
“This is the most bizarre thing that I have ever heard in my life,”Baiyeshea said.
“We submitted the report to the speaker around 1pm and I left Lokoja for Abuja. I was at Gwagwalada area when one of the panel’s members who had not left Lokoja called to tell me that he saw it on television that the deputy governor had been impeached.
“As far as the report that we submitted to the house of assembly is concerned, the committee returned the decision that all the allegations were not proved. What the constitution said by section 188(8) is that, ‘once the panel returns a verdict like that. No further proceedings can be taken on it.’
“That is it. It is only when the panel returns a verdict that allegations have been proved (to be true) that they can go ahead within 40 days. When did the house sit? We delivered the documents and the house was not even in session today.”
The Panel’s report at the conclusion of their investigation on the allegation against the impeached Deputy Governor read;
“In line with Section 188(8) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) quoted herein before, we hereby report to the Kogi State House of Assembly that the allegations contained in the Notice of Allegations admitted in evidence by this Panel as Exhibit C7 have NOT BEEN PROVED.”
This is coming after Governor Yahaya Bello nominated his running mate, Edward Onoja as the Deputy Governor of the state.
