by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna

Kaduna State’s Commissioner, Ministry for Local Government Affairs, Hon. Sadiq M. Lagos, reportedly asked the Speaker Kagarko LGA of the State Legislative Council, Mr. Danjuma Gajere, to shut-up his mouth and walked out of his office.

This allegedly occurred Thursday during a meeting with LG Councilors over a disagreement towards moves to recall back the suspended chairman of the council, Hon. Nasara Rabo, who is also alleged to have been impeached.

The Speaker and seven other councilors of the Kagarko LGA of the State, who disclosed this to journalists in an interview on Thursday evening, however, said the impeachment they slammed against Hon. Nasara Rabo “remained stand, valid and subsisted.”

The Speaker and the Majority Leader of Kagarko LG told our correspondent in an interview that disagreements ensued when the Ministry for LG Affairs commissioner, who invited them for a meeting in his office Thursday, told the Councilors that the suspended council chairman would be resuming his office, saying there was nothing like impeachment against him.

“On Wednesday, 9th November, 2023, we received invitations – that was yesterday, 8th November, 2023 – that all the counselors to meet at the Ministry of LG Affairs, Kaduna.

“So, we assembled ourselves and moved down to Kaduna. Today, we met with Commissioner Ministry for LG Affairs where we went for the meeting.

“After introducing ourselves, the first thing we were told was that everybody should go outside and drop their phone, and warned stringently that whosesoever, anyone whose phone rings will be taken away by police that would be invited by him. 

“As respected counselors, we all submitted our handsets/phones in a Bagco leather-bag, and was taken away. So, we started the meeting, but after the prayers he picked up papers and started calling our names, beginning with me,” the Speaker narrated.

“He said, “Your names are here, the 8 councillors; the State House of Assembly sent your list that you should go on suspension;” but that, even though he will not tolerate anything that will dent the image of this administration, but that whosesoever plays with him will be squad down, not even the chairman or common councillors. 

“He called us to tell us that the suspended chairman of Kagarko LG, Nasara Rabo, in this letter inside his hand, from above, stated that they are returning him back to office. 

“So, what he wants us to do is to be law abiding lawmakers and respect the Governor, as himself, too, respects the Governor, for the Governor to go and continue with the peace building and not do trouble,” Speaker further stated.

To the Acting Council Chairman, the LG Affairs commissioner, according to the Speaker, explained that “If you don’t follow him as Vice, we are going to suspend the whole LG, dissolve them,” and urged the Council Clerk to ensure that the councilors go, and properly guided. The Speaker continued that, after this, he did not want anybody to utter a word.

The Speaker stated that, “Before I raised up my hand to speak as a Speaker of the House, the Majority Leader’s hand was up. He neither gave the Majority Leader’s attention nor myself when I raised my hand. 

“I raised my hand almost 3-4 times but he refused to give me or him. Even when I referred to him as a father, but he said nobody will talk.

“What happens today to me is like autocratic government and not a democratic government. At the end of the day, when I insisted and uttered some words to talk, he then said, “I don’t want to waste time here. In fact, if you talk – come on, get out of here! And I walked gently out of the office in the presence of the elected councilors and LG management staffs. 

“Some of my councilors, who wanted to say something, too, were not given time or opportunities. So, I don’t know what transpired in the meeting again, because he walked me out of his office. But the Majority Leader, who was left behind, can brief you of what he said later when I was walked out,” he said.

Briefing journalists, the Majority Leader, Kagarko Legislative Council, Hon. Musa Rabo, expressed lamentation over what transpired in the meeting.

However, reacting to a statement made by the commissioner, Rabo responded saying, “What Honourable Speaker said was exactly what happened in the meeting. 

“I’ve never had such meeting, which later turned to autocratic leadership kind of meeting like today, because the only thing the commissioner could do was to tell us that he was giving us order to retain the suspended/’impeached’ chairman by all means. 

“And he called us here in his office to tell us that Hon Nasara Rabo is going back to office, by all means. Of course, he opened up, because we sent our impeachment documents on Monday, and our papers are there in the ministry. 

“The only thing he could tell us was that he saw our impeachment letter, but we should go back, there’s nothing like impeachment. That, we should go back and respect Hon. Nasarar Rabo that he received letter from above that there is nothing like impeachment process that took place in Kagarko.

“So that Nasara will go back and continue, and that all of us should go back and leave in peace in the LG. I tried to raise my hand but he said nobody should talk and even threatened us for raising my hands. We are elected and our people are there crying over us. We are not here for ourselves but for our people. 

“At least, he should have given us a listening ear. But he said nobody should talk. To our greatest surprise the Honourable Speaker was walked out of his office because he raised up his hand to talk, which was very bad.

“In fact, we found it very difficult to assume who gave him the order. Is it the Governor, who we know that Uba Sani is a democrat? Last time we sat with Uba Sani he gave us time and, in fact, it was an interactive session with him. We believe Sani cannot give executive order like that. 

Provoked, the Speaker reacted that “After 30 years in politics I became confused because I never experienced such thing like dictatorial system like this. 

“So, I said, if we have the law and rules of the 23 LG books provided to us as legislative council. If we act according to the LG rules legally and not illegally, but surprised that a commissioner, who came out from another different ward, could do this. 

“All the contracts in our LG were without prayers and without our consent but all alone. We don’t go for oversight function, workshop.

“Workshop of N10,000, for accommodation and transportation, if you are coming from your LG to Kaduna City.. If we must go at all, he, the chairman would say, we came for womanizing. 

“I used to kneel down for the chairman and talk to him myself and say we are in state of agony, we can’t feed ourselves talk less of feeding our people. But we are talking of how we can get transport, and go and listen to our people at grassroots. He hardly listens to us. 

“Thanks; our next reaction now, as I’ve earlier said, our letter of impeachment is there in the ministry, and I am saying it loudly that we stand by that impeachment process. 

“Let the law take over its course because we are dying. We want justice in the case, let court and FG intervene in this issue because we are in democracy,” he said.

All the six other councilors, who allegedly impeached the chairman, declared their support for Speaker and Majority Leader and stand by the impeachment.

All the councilors spoke intending with what Marjory Leader and Speaker said are standing by the earlier impeachment. 

Recalled that the Kagarko Council Chairman was reportedly asked by the State Assembly to step aside over investigation on alleged contract fraud in his LGA.

By MbNewss

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