Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of having bastardized the army, the police, the courts, aviation and the electoral commission and has now moved to the next level, which is impeachment.
He made it clear that every impeachment or threat of it on the opposition governors in recent times has the imprint of President Jonathan, saying that the impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa state was one of it.
Oyegun addressed newsmen yesterday in Abuja along other chieftains of the party, including Chief Audu Ogbeh and former FCT Minister, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
The APC chairman said that the impeachment fever is now hovering over Nasarawa, Rivers, Edo and Borno states.
“What was Nyako impeached for? Offences he allegedly committed five years ago. Those offences were not impeachable when he was in the Peoples Democratic Party. But the moment he defected to the APC, they became impeachable.
“The entire process that led to the impeachment of Nyako was fraught with irregularities, bias, judicial contradictions and in violation of every procedural and constitutional provision. It is the worst manifestation of impunity.
“We intend to mount an immediate and rigorous challenge to this gross injustice to the party and people of Adamawa State.”
The APC Chairman also accused President Jonathan of being guilty of impeachable offences.
“In fact, only on the 10th of July 2014, the Senate passed a resolution asking President Goodluck Jonathan to prepare and submit to the National Assembly supplementary budget to cover the expenditure in the sum of N90.693 bn (US$585 bn) for petrol subsidy 2012 and the sum of N685.910 bn (US$4.430 bn) for Kerosene (DPK) subsidy expended without appropriation by the National Assembly in 2012 and 2013.
“Now, who is guiltier of gross misconduct than a President who is frittering away our commonwealth to induce perfidious legislators to impeach their state governors? Who is guiltier of gross misconduct than a President who deploys troops to harass, intimidate and arrest the opposition during an election? Who deserves to be impeached for gross misconduct more than a President who uses national institutions against the opposition and shuts airports arbitrarily?
“He (Jonathan) is subverting hitherto respected national institutions. The army has been so compromised that it can no longer be trusted by anyone to be neutral. The army has been so abused that it now carries out police duties.
“Soldiers were deployed to guard the residence of the Chief Judge of Adamawa while the impeachment proceedings were on. Soldiers were deployed to guard each member of the impeachment panel. Soldiers were also deployed to guard the venue where the panel sat.
“In Ekiti, soldiers were deployed to hunt down the opposition and prevent them from moving around freely, in contravention of the nation’s constitution. In Osun, soldiers are again to be deployed to shut down the state and go after the opposition.”
However, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati responded by reminding said Chief John Odigie-Oyegun of the law of defamation of character in Nigeria which his reference to the President represents.
Abati said that he expected the APC Chairman to be a mature man, adding: “he ought to know that in law, whoever alleges must provide proof. He should not assume that because he is playing politics, that gives him the right to make irresponsible allegations.
“People of his stature occupying such a sensitive position must make only allegations that they can prove. Just speaking politically and accusing the President of something untrue does not protect him in the eyes of the law. What he is saying is absolutely untrue.
“I think that members of the House of Assembly in Adamawa State should feel grossly insulted by the APC chairman, who is more or less making them look like persons who have no mind of their own.
“Our belief is that those lawmakers are not children that can be pushed around by anybody.
“What needs to be stressed is the fact that President Jonathan has no hand in anybody’s impeachment.” [myad]

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state has said that Murtala Nyako was impeached as governor of Adamawa state on Tuesday by 18 out of 24 member House of Assembly simply to satisfy

the evil desire of those it called undemocratic elements operating from Abuja, the nation’s federal capital.
In a statement, the chairman of the state chapter of the party, Chief Davies Ibiamu Ikanya said described the impeachment as shocking and retrogressive
“We never thought that Adamawa State lawmakers would allow external forces to cause them to impeach a Governor that was not only duly elected but also enjoyed the overwhelming support of the people of Adamawa State just to satisfy the selfish and evil plots of undemocratic elements operating from Abuja. “To us, this is a retrogressive development aimed at rubbishing a man who has sacrificed so much for the unity and progress of Nigeria as a nation.”
Ikanya expressed regret that Nyako had been paid back in bad coin for spearheading the election of President Jonathan both at the 2011 PDP Presidential Primaries election and the general election proper of the President in 2011.
“This is one of the reasons why also Rivers State is under siege for given the President the highest number of votes during the 2011 Presidential election. “We are not used to crying over spilled milk but we will like to assure Adamawa people that we are solidly behind them, not minding the efforts of some undemocratic forces to put our democracy in danger.” The APC chieftain agreed that Impeachment is a normal exercise in any democracy but that induced impeachment like that of Adamawa State is condemnable. “We wonder why the PDP-led Federal Government should be putting our democracy in danger by luring and forcing some disgruntled and misguided lawmakers to be making efforts to impeach Governors of only APC-controlled states. The cases of Edo and Nasarawa states readily come to mind.”
He said that the world is watching how Nigeria is operating its democracy, even as he said wanted the people to keep watching “where all these rascality acts will lead us to as a nation.”
He cautioned however those he called undemocratic elements to watch out else they collapse the democracy as a result of their desperation to install President Jonathan for a third time against the letters of the Constitution that says that nobody should act as a President for more than eight years. “Should these elements succeed in their evil plot, they will be making President Jonathan to preside over this nation for over ten years and maybe thereafter make him a life President!” [myad]