Blame politicians for Nigeria’s ills, says impeached Taraba deputy gov

SHOULD the ills currently bedeviling the nation lead to its total disintegration, the blame, according to the recently impeached deputy governor of Taraba State, Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi, should be heaped on politicians.

Danladi, who made the observation yesterday in his residence along Presidential Lodge in Jalingo through his lawyer, Yunus Ustaz Usman (SAN), frowned at the way and manner he was removed from office without due process.

Worried that the action of the state House of Assembly and other politicians in the impeachment saga in the state and other parts of the country could affect the nation’s democracy, he beckoned on Nigerians to hold the political class responsible for the ills of the country.

“If Nigeria fails, it is the politicians and politicians alone who destroyed this country and God will hold them accountable for messing up this great nation,” he said.

Wondering why Danladi was not given enough time to defend himself over the numerous allegations levelled against him by the House of Assembly, Usman observed that the set of people currently ruling the state and the nation at large “are uncivilised.”

He observed that “what happened was nothing but total disobedience to the rule of law, lack of respect for the court and it is a total bastardisation of democracy because the House of Assembly was served with our suit restraining them until the court decides, but they went ahead to suit themselves.”

He believes that the story “would have been different if it was in a civilised country,” stating that “in a civilised society, nobody would have removed him until the case is determined.”

Rather than to continue giving politicians the privilege to preside over panels at both state and national levels, the need to as a matter of urgency, amend the constitution so as to empower the chief justices of all states and the Federal Government to always oversee the affairs of panels, he said, has become necessary

“Should the politicians continue to be allowed to handle any panel, the image of the country would not only be muddled, the system would be bastardised,” he said.

Insisting that his client would seek all legitimate paths to seek for justice, he said that the hearing, which led to the final impeachment of his client from office “was a total violation of the former deputy governor’s natural right to defend himself.”

Danladi was last week sacked from office following allegations of gross misconducts levelled against him by the House of Assembly, which was unanimously supported by the seven-man panel constituted to investigate him.