Impeachment And Akume's Lucky Escape
By Reuben Abati

Recent events in Benue state should not be allowed to pass without comment; they shed more light on the fragile nature of our democracy, the use of the word "impeachment" as a weapon of legislative and administrative terrorism, and the vulnerability of state Governors. I propose to tell the story of how Governor George Akume luckily escaped the impeachment axe simply by mollifying the angry gods of PDP politics who wanted his head on the salver.

The allegations against him, which led to the impeachment moves are instructive. He was accused of being too close to the Vice President Atiku Abubabar. These days in Nigerian politics, to be seen with the President, or to be known as a loyalist of the Vice President is the equivalent of a suicidal gesture. If you are a Governor, the Presidency or its agents would mark you out for removal from office. All that is necessary is for the President's anti-corruption army, the EFCC to be sent after the lawmakers in the particular state, who would then be blackmailed, threatened and confronted with damning evidence about their own misdemeanour. If they must go free, the lawmakers will be advised to help remove their state Governor from office, since they alone possess the official powers to do so under the Constitution.

In Bayelsa, Oyo, Ekiti, Anambra, and Plateau, this script has been played out and perfected, even in the face of public protest about the need to respect the Constitution. In Plateau, six men removed the Governor.. They sat at 5.30 am! For being labeled a friend of the Vice President, Akume automatically found himself in trouble. When recently, the Vice President disappeared from Aso Villa for a few days, just before his 60th birthday, he was said to have gone to Gboko in Benue state. Akume's enemies carried the tale to Abuja that he was the host of the Vice President, or that he facilitated the Vice President's trip to the home of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu in Gboko where he stayed.

A second allegation was tied to this namely that George Akume had been making friends with the Action Congress, the political party that is led by Atiku's loyalists. This was at a time when the President had been complaining about fifth columnists within the PDP. He had even promised to send all such persons out of the party. It must be noted that the Vice President is generally regarded as the main influence behind the Action Congress. And please note also, that there was no reference whatsoever to governance issues, no major concern about public policy or the interests of the people of Benue state.

Seeing that Akume had fallen out of favour with the PDP secretariat in Abuja and Aso Villa, his opponents in the state moved against him. When ward congresses were held in the state and the Akume faction of the party emerged victorious, that gave the opposition the proof it had been looking for to explain to the PDP leadership that Akume was getting too big. The primaries were then cancelled on the orders of the PDP Headquarters in order to cut this "Atiku loyalist" to size. The local executive committee of the party was also dissolved and an anti-Akume caretaker committee was set up to run the affairs of the Benue PDP.

In addition to the obviously frivolous allegations against Akume, the EFCC which is now used whenever it is convenient to do so as an instrument of political intimidation sent its officials to Benue state to interrogate members of the Benue State House of Assembly. The lawmakers were reportedly told to account for the N10 million Constituency allowance that they collected from the state, they were asked to prove that the money was judiciously spent, or face the music. As in Ekiti, and Plateau, the lawmakers were caught flat-footed. They had to negotiate with the EFCC and thus agreed to get rid of the Governor, in exchange for their freedom. Familiar script? And so, 14 of the lawmakers relocated from Makurdi to the Obudu Cattle Ranch in neighbouring Cross River state to design and execute the impeachment agenda. Meanwhile, two more attempts to conduct fresh state primaries for the 2007 elections failed, tension rose to a feverish peak. The Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly and the Majority Leader however stood by the Governor. There were reports that the Deputy Governor was already warming up to succeed his boss.

There were threats of violence, with Akume's supporters and the opposition getting prepared for a show-down. But the Governor obviously knew when not to fight. The impeachment process in Nigeria has become the biggest evidence of the absence of democracy in our land. Section 188 of the Constitution is very clear about due process, right to fair hearing and justice. In no state in the past five months has this been followed. The Constitution empowers the lawmakers to impeach a sitting Governor, but routinely, they have abused that power. Due process has been sacrificed. For example, although the Constitution specifies a minimum of a two-thirds majority for the purpose of impeachment, any group of lawmakers who have the backing of the party leaders, EFCC or the Presidency or a combination of all three can remove a Governor.

Akume took a pragmatic view of the matter. For days on end, his faction and members of the opposition ran to and fro the PDP Headquarters in Abuja. Federalism died long ago in this country. Everything is dictated from the centre, in this case Abuja. Akume needed to reaffirm his loyalty to the party and to the President. He was under pressure to get the opposition off his back not with the force of arms but through sheer realism. His sins could only be forgiven if he removed the tag of "fifth columnist" that his opponents had placed on him. On Thursday, Akume's pragmatism was evident in a paid advertorial titled "Press Statement: No clandestine meetings in Benue state" (ThisDay, November 30, p. 49). It was signed by his Special Assistant on Media Affairs, Beckie Orpin. In the first paragraph, the Governor plays the usual game of blaming journalists for everything that goes wrong in the land including the weather! It's alright, but facts are scared.

The truth is that there have been "clandestine meetings" in Benue state. In the second and third paragraphs, there is a general declaration of commitment to Nigerian unity and democratic rule. But it is in the last three paragraphs that the matter at hand finally gets addressed. We are told: "Benue people are committed to the growth and sustainability of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the party which some of our people founded and nurtured from its rudiment (sic), and have collectively firm (sic) as members. For avoidance of doubt, the people of Benue do not seek to cross carpet into new or old party. We shall continue to seek accommodation and understanding within the ranks and files (sic) of our mega party, the PDP." Please substitute George Akume for all references to Benue people in the foregoing. In a democratic setting the people cannot be under any pressure to pledge allegiance to any "mega-party". They are free to cross-carpet and make their own choices, and no one may take them to task for joining any political party of their choice. The Governor should have spoken for himself.

This oversight is corrected in the succeeding paragraph: "we wish to state clearly that, whether in official or private capacity, the governor, Dr. George Akuma (sic- the Special Assistant can't even get the name of her boss right, how sloppy!) did not host the vice president. Government is also not aware that the vice president held any meetings with either members of the PDP in the state or state government officials." At last, the cat is let out of the bag. Governor Akume had to disown the Vice President publicly.

Now let's go to the last paragraph: "we have great respect for the vice president both in his official and private capacities but this cannot obliterate our deep respect and total loyalty to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the leader of our great party- the PDP". This was how Governor Akume walked the tightrope and saved his office! The public statement read like a letter that had been submitted earlier to the party leadership in Abuja. I wouldn't be surprised if the Governor also went to Aso Villa to pledge his "deep respect and total loyalty" to the President.

By Thursday, PDP chiefs in Benue signed a peace deal. The lawmakers who had relocated to Obudu Cattle Ranch to organise an impeachment coup against the Governor returned. The EFCC hounds also left town. The opposition led by Paul Unongo, David Mark and Barnabas Gemade also sheathed its swords. At a public event attended by all the factional leaders, Akume rhapsodised: "What are we fighting for? For a bottle of coke? Niger Delta people are fighting for resource control, we are here fighting for a bottle of coke and we have now made a laughing stock of ourselves, going to Abuja everyday in the name of politics. I will do everything possible even if it means lying flat on the ground for peace to reign in Benue for the sake of our future generation". The local power brokers: David Mark, Barnabas Gemade and Paul Unongo reportedly "beamed with smiles" and later embraced the Governor. The reconciliation came about following directives from Abuja. Under the new arrangement, the aborted party primaries will now take place, Akume has also been given four seats in a newly constituted party Exco in the state, under a 50:50 arrangement ordered from Abuja. .

Should we congratulate Akume, or simply say that what has saved the situation in Benue is his pragmatism? He did not direct his supporters to fight the opposition to a standstill. He did not employ assassins to deal with his opponents. He would still have been impeached but Benue state would have been thrown into confusion, a state of emergency could have been declared. Some of our Governors are beginning to learn how to survive impeachment moves. In another state, the Governor bought protection fro himself by distributing four-runner Jeeps to the lawmakers. Aig Imokhuede writing in the Vanguard of November 29, 2006: "A Guide to Impeachment", p. 17, has observed that we now have a new set of consultants in town, "the impeachment consultants (!)" who are assisting all Governors who may be targeted for impeachment. I will not be surprised if one of these days someone writes a book on "How to Complete Your Term as Governor and Survive Impeachment Threats: A Practical Guide to Nigerian Democracy". The Akume story should be a relevant case study in such a book.

But it is sad that a Governor can suddenly find his job on the line only because he is adjudged guilty by association. Our Constitution recognises the freedom of choice and the freedom of association. So what if a Governor is a friend of the Vice President? How does this amount to "gross misconduct" under the purview of Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution? I imagine that now that he has survived the impeachment threat against him, should Akume hear again that the Vice President is visiting or passing through Benue state, he will conveniently leave town until later. And should anyone mention Action Congress near Akume, he will surely pretend to be deaf and dumb in order to avoid problems. It is also terrible that our states have become mere puppets in the hands of powerful forces in Abuja. Akume's pragmatism may have saved him. But the problems with Nigerian democracy have again been foregrounded.

A Democracy Of Bombs
In the past four months, bombs have been exploding like Xmas crackers across Nigerian cities as a fresh tool of political expression. Each time Nigerians talk about a bomb incident, it always represent something sinister and cruel (recall the civil war, the bombing of Dele Giwa, the assassination of Bagauda Kaltho during the Abacha years...) But now it appears that politicians are using bombs to inflict injury on anyone who offends them, or poses a threat to their ambition. As we get into the political season, more bombs have been exploding with fatal consequences.

There have been blasts in residential locations in Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Asaba. This week, there were three bomb explosions in Asaba, the Delta state capital, all within a space of 24 hours affecting the PDP state secretariat, the campaign office of a House of Representatives aspirant, Chief Ndudi Elumelu and the home of his opponent, Chief Theodora Giwa-Amu. In Delta state, the Police Commissioner, Mr. Udom Ekpoudom described the bomb blasts as "surprising and embarrassing." Giwa-Amu added: "I have played politics from the First republic to date and we have not seen this kind of thing before. It is the new generation politicians who are impatient and restive, and want to win elections at all costs."

Before the Asaba incident, there was also a bomb blast in Benin City GRA, at the home of a council Chairmanship aspirant, Richard Ehimigbai of the PDP. One person, a relation of the aspirant, was killed, ten vehicles were destroyed, adjacent buildings were affected. A week earlier the home of Senator Patrick Osakwe in Benin, had also been attacked with grenades. What manner of politics can possibly give rise to this? Where are the security agencies? How come bombs and grenades have become so easily available in this land? The Chairman of the Oredo Local Council Edos Ebomoyi summed it all up when he said. "This is catastrophic. It is surprising that what we watch in CNN happening in Baghdad and Afghanistan is happening under our nose". Nigeria is not at war, it is only preparing for elections!.

Robot  # 1 | 03.12.2006 02:20

I propose to tell the story of how Governor George Akume luckily escaped ...Read the full article.

What?  # 2 | 03.12.2006 16:53

As usual we are chasing the symptoms and not the cause: If you do not steal, you are not subject to blackmail; If you develop the economy of your state and efficiently add taxes and fees for services provided you insulate yourself against the monthly allocation politics of Abuja.