The Kano State House of Assembly has commenced impeachment proceedings against the Deputy Governor of the state, Aminu Abdulsalam Gwarzo, formally serving him a notice to respond to allegations considered to constitute impeachable offences.
At a special plenary session on Thursday, the lawmakers issued the notice outlining four allegations against the deputy governor, including claims of misappropriation of public funds, failure to properly discharge the duties of his office, abuse of office, and breach of public trust.
The Majority Leader of the House, Lawan Dala, confirmed that the notice was endorsed by 38 lawmakers and that the deputy governor has been given two weeks to respond to the allegations levelled against him.
He explained that the action of the lawmakers was in line with Section 188 of the Nigerian Constitution, which empowers a State House of Assembly to initiate impeachment proceedings against a governor or deputy governor.
Political observers say the development may not be unconnected to the recent political realignments in the state following the defection of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to the All Progressives Congress (APC), a move the deputy governor reportedly declined to follow.
Since the governor’s defection, Gwarzo has not been seen at state functions alongside the governor and has also not attended delegated events on behalf of the administration, a departure from the pattern that existed before the political shift.
It should be recalled that the Commissioners for Internal Security, Science and Technology, Youths and sports development, Humanitarian Affairs, and Special Duties, as well as some heads of agencies, tendered their letters of resignation and aligned themselves with the leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, signalling their loyalty to him amid the unfolding political developments.
Details of this development are expected to unfold in the coming days as the remaining political battle shifts to the Kano State House of Assembly, the body constitutionally empowered to determine whether a governor or deputy governor should be impeached.
