Taraba lawmakers impeach Speaker, others

Taraba State House of Assembly Monday impeached the Speaker, Istifanus Haruna Gbana, and the entire principal officers.

Others thrown out of the leadership position of the House alongside the Speaker are the Deputy Speaker, Abel Peter Diah, Majority Leader, Charles Maijankai and the Deputy Majority Leader, Daniel Ishaya Gani.

It was observed that 17 of the 24 members carried out the impeachment on the floor of the House. The motion for the impeachment, which was moved by the member representing Lau Constituency, Joseph Albasu Kunini, was seconded by the member representing Gembu Constituency, Dr. A.A Jugulde.

Reasons proffered for the action by various members who spoke include gross misconduct, abuse of office and misappropriation of allowances meant for the lawmakers.

It was gathered from some of the members that change in the leadership of the House became necessary as a result of what they described as sudden loss of respect for the lawmakers by the residents of the state.

'As you are already aware, the leadership of the House has overstayed their welcome. So I don't think we have erred in our decision to remove them from their positions' one of the members who craved anonymity said. It was also learnt that alleged relegation of the legislative arm of the government to the background by leadership of the House by acting as errand boys to the executive arm angered the 17 members.

Confirming this to newsmen, the new Speaker, Haruna Tsokwa, said the lawmakers were all fed up with the leadership of the House. 'We were no longer satisfied with the leadership quality.'

The new speaker who was immediately elected alongside the new principal officers, said 'the decision to impeached the leadership of the House was in good faith because we want to move the state forward.' He reiterated the readiness of the new leadership to operate an open door policy, which, according to him, would not drag the state backward but accelerate its growth.

The impeachment, The Guardian gathered, was sponsored by some well-placed persons who had been harnessing all legitimate ways to ensure immediate confirmation of the acting governor, Garba Umar as the substantive governor of Taraba.

The former Deputy Majority Leader, who doubles as the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Daniel Ishaya Gani, declined comment. 'For now, we don't have anything to say,' he however said.

The removal of the House leadership may cost the ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai his office. He has been out of the state since October 25, 2012 following the severe injuries he sustained in a plane crash