Zamfara State Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Faruku Ahmed, shares his views with MAIHARAJI ALTINE on the recent removal of Mahdi Gusau as the state deputy governor
What is your reaction to the impeachment of Mahdi Gusau as the deputy governor?
My reaction is that the entire process was haphazardly done without following due process. Don’t forget the fact that, there is an interim court order restraining the State House of Assembly from impeaching the Deputy Governor, Mr Mahdi Aliyu Gusau. As such, their action is a violation of the court order and we shall wait to see the action of the court.
Don’t you think the impeached deputy governor should have defected to the APC to avoid the current experience he passed through?
How can you imagine Barrister Mahdi Aliyu Gusau to defect to the APC being a lawyer who knows the constitutional provisions of the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? He was brought to the office through the Supreme Court judgement because the APC who got the highest votes in the 2019 general elections did not conduct primary elections. As such, their votes were declared as wasted votes. The court then declared PDP who got the second highest votes as winners of the elections. So, how could the deputy governor defect to APC, knowing full well that the court has banned the party from holding any political office in the state till 2023?
The Zamfara State House of Assembly said Gusau was accused of criminal self-enrichment through the use of public fund and abuse of office. What is your reaction to that?
This is a very funny and blind accusation. Nobody will take the House of Assembly seriously. The people of the state can bear witness to the fact that he didn’t become the deputy governor in order to acquire wealth. Everybody in the state knows his family background. The House has accused him of diverting the N30m monthly allocation he was collecting for the last 15 months amounting to N575m. Everybody knows that the deputy governor judiciously used the money for the running of his office and the education of the less privileged students who have nobody to look after them.
The House of Assembly were really aware that he didn’t divert the money for his own interest. The Speaker also used to collect N60m monthly, while Governor Bello Matawalle also collects N1.2bn monthly. So, if they accused the deputy governor of misappropriating his N30m monthly allocation, let the Speaker and the governor tell the public what they have been doing with their own cash allocations.
Don’t you think this impeachment can affect your electoral fortunes in 2023?
No, it cannot affect it. Let me tell you, our party is becoming stronger by the day because of the sympathy we are getting from the people of the state as a result of the so-called impeachment of the deputy governor. Many people are not happy with the impeachment of Mr Mahdi Aliyu Gusau and I am telling you that the APC is dead in Zamfara State.
With the removal of the deputy, can your party stop Governor Matawalle who seeks a second term on the platform of the APC?
I don’t think Governor Bello Mattawale will even finish his first tenure because we are still in court as I told you earlier. So, let us wait for the court’s decision before thinking of a second term.
What is your advice to PDP members who may want to engage in violence due to Mahadi Gusau’s impeachment?
I am calling on our members and supporters to continue to be law-abiding citizens and remain supportive of the PDP. I am calling on them to respect the rule of the law. They should not do anything that will lead to breakdown of law and order.
The impeached deputy governor did not appear before the panel to defend himself. Don’t you think that was a wrong move?
I have explained earlier that we are in court. So, the deputy governor cannot be said to be wrong in his decision not to appear before the panel. He was right for refusing to appear before the panel.
Apart from waiting for the court verdict on the impeachment, what would the PDP do to reassure its supporters that all is not lost ahead of 2023 general election?
I have also told you that our party is gaining more supporters due to the bad policies of Governor Bello Mattawale. We are only waiting for the 2023 general elections.
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