An internal battle broke out Monday within Nigeria’s ruling Peoples Democratic Party over impeachment processes against three of its 28 state governors.
The party controls 28 of the country’s 36 states.
Monday’s battle followed the impeachment of Ayo Fayose, governor of Ekiti state in the south-west, by the state’s parliament, the serving of impeachment notice on Peter Obi, governor of Anambra state in the south-east, by the state’s parliament, and the impeachment process against Joshua Dariye, governor of Plateau State in north- central Nigeria.
Nigeria’s political landscape is dominated by the ruling party but has grown increasingly turbulent as the nation marches toward April 2007 elections.
Justice Minister Bayo Ojo said Monday in Abuja that the impeachment of the Ekiti governor earlier in the day and the swearing-in of the state speaker of parliament, Friday Aderemi, as acting governor, was unconstitutional.
Aderemi was sworn-in by the state’s acting chief judge, Jide Aladejana, an action that Ojo said was null and void ‘as the parliament does not have the constitutional powers to remove the sitting Chief Judge Kayode Bamissile.’
‘All actions taken by the acting chief judge in his new capacity are unconstitutional,’ Ojo said. ‘There are laid-down procedures for removing a chief judge and for appointing a replacement. When the procedure is not observed, any other action taken is illegal.’
The whereabouts of the impeached Ekiti governor, Fayose, were still unknown amid conflicting reports that he had fled the country or been apprehended trying to escape to neighbouring Ghana.
Fayose was impeached on charges of graft as the state’s parliament said he had stolen 100,000 dollars, allegedly stashed in a bank in the United States.
Peoples Democratic Party national Chairman Ahmadu Ali said Monday that the decision of the Ekiti state parliament to remove Fayose from the governorship was unacceptable to the party.
Similarly, Ali condemned the impeachment notice served on Obi by the Anambra state parliament.
Ali is scheduled to visit the state Tuesday on a fact-finding mission.
Prior to the impeachment processes against the governors in Ekiti and Anambra, the parliament in Plateau State had already removed its speaker to clear the way for the impeachment of Dariye, the governor who escaped last year from Scotland police to avoid money-laundering charges in Britain.
Meanwhile, Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar was in an Abuja court Monday to contest his three-month suspension from the Peoples Democratic Party. He was suspended.
Abubakar said that the suspension, imposed in mid-September, was intended to block him from contesting the party’s presidential ticket in December.
The party is scheduled to nominate its presidential candidate for the 2007 election one week before the expiration of Abubakar’s suspension.