Zamfara Deputy Governor Aliyu Mohammed: “Why I Shunned State Assembly Invitation”

By Ayodele Oni

Deputy Governor of Zamfara state, Mahdi Aliyu Mohamed has said he would not honour an invitation by the State House of Assembly to appear before it.

He explained, in a statement that honouring the invitation by the State Legislature would amount to contempt of  Court as there is a subsisting order halting the impeachment move against him by the assembly.

“My party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has instituted an action at the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/650/2021: PDP vs. INEC & 5 Others challenging the vires of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, as presently constituted, to commence impeachment or any other proceedings against the Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, elected on the platform of the PDP.

“You will recall that; the Federal High Court has granted an order directing the maintenance of the status quo ante bellum by the Court on the 19th day of July 2021.

“The Court Order was served on the Chief Judge of Zamfara State, Zamfara State House of Assembly, and the Governor of Zamfara State.

“Notwithstanding the service of the said Court Order, Mr Emmanuel C. Ukala SAN and Distinguished Life Bencher wrote a letter to the Honourable Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly drawing the attention of the Speaker and the House of Assembly to the Court Order and the Suit no.  FHC/ABJ/CS/650/2021: PDP vs. INEC & 5 Others.

“Despite the foregoing state of affairs, the Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly and the House of Assembly have now embarked on steps and actions, to over-reach the pending suit, disobey the order of the court and render the effect of the suit nugatory by scheduling a sitting to proceed with impeachment proceedings on Thursday 29th July 2021 (today) against I the Deputy Governor of Zamfara State.

“I am of the honest view that action will be improper, indecorous, in appropriate and unlawful as it constitutes disobedience to court order and will be tantamount to a flagrant breach of the law as enunciated in a host of Supreme Court Cases such as the Supreme Court cases of Vaswani v Savallakh [1972] (PART 2) ALL NLR 438 and Ojukwu v Governor of Lagos State [1983] 2 NWLR (PART 10) 106 and Mohammed v. Olawunmi [1993] 4 NWLR (PART 287) 254,

“These cases have laid down the principle which has become time honoured and a settled law beyond peradventure that where there is pending application pursuant to an appeal before a court, no action aimed at or capable of foisting on the court a fait accompli and render it decision nugatory should be taken or entertain.

“In fact, the parties should not engage itself in speculation by concluding or assuming that the application before the Court will fail because an action before a court is the civilised way of enforcement and maintenance of legal rights and a person that take that course of action should not be silenced or forced to abandon or renounce his right to complain.

“I am constrained to draw the attention of the public to this ugly situation in the matter in the hope that well-meaning citizens and people of goodwill will call the House of Assembly of Zamfara State to order and impress upon them the need to obey the subsisting order of the court and respect the judicial process to exercise restraint and await the outcome.”

Recall that the Deputy Governor ran into troubled waters for refusing to defect to the APC with his Governor, Bello Matawalle, recently.