by Akan Ido

Impeachment proceedings against Adamawa state governor, Murtala Nyako, and his deputy, Bala Ngilari by the State House of Assembly has commenced on Wednesday.

The Assembly on Wednesday directed its clerk to serve gov. Nyako and his deputy Ngilari impeachment notices.

There has been a running battle between the lawmakers and Nyako since he left the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to join the All Progressives Congress.

Premium Times reports:

The decision by the Assembly has confirmed PREMIUM TIMES report six days ago that the lawmakers were plotting to remove the governor from office.

Details of Wednesday’s proceedings at the Assembly are still sketchy but the decision to commence impeachment procedure against Mr. Nyako and his deputy climaxes months of acrimonious relationship between the executive and the legislature in the North-East state.

The political landscape in the state tensed up last Wednesday when the Assembly ordered the arrest of four commissioners for their failure to appear before the lawmakers to failing to appear before the House to answer questions on the state’s finances.

At plenary that Thursday, the Deputy Speaker, Kwamoti Laori (PDP-Numan), who presided, directed the state Commissioner of Police to arrest commissioners who failed to show up and bring them before the house on Monday by 10 am.

The affected commissioners were that of agriculture, Lucy Ishaku; health, Lilian Stephen; commerce, Ahmed Gorko; and land and survey, Abdulrahman Shuaibu.

The Assembly, which acknowledged receipt of a letter from the Secretary to the State Government, Kobis Thimnu, over his inability to honour the Thursday invitation, asked him to appear unfailingly on Monday.

The commissioner for Finance, Ibrahim Vokna, his counterpart for Works, Umaru Atiku, and the state Accountant General, Nasir Mohammed, had earlier appeared before the house.

The Assembly had on May 27 gave Mr. Nyako and his government an ultimatum of three days to pay back an alleged illegal deductions made from workers’ salaries and allowances of May 2014 in the state.

The development fueled speculation in the state that the Assembly was bent on sacking the governor.