Ahead 2019: Defections, impeachments and murders

It’s 199 days to the commencement of the 2019 general election. As we count down to the D-Day, a number of worrisome developments are rearing their ugly heads in the polity. Indeed, in the last one week, some things happened that made me shudder if Nigerian politicians will ever change for the better. The last eight days have been characterised by a lot of political intrigues, power play and assassinations. It will not be out of place to say that Nigeria is in a state of political anomie.

Last week Tuesday, July 24, the nation woke up to the news that the official residences of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, were under police siege. The media was regaled with how Saraki purportedly sneaked out of his home by driving himself out through an alternate route to be able to get to the National Assembly complex where he presided over the session where 14 senators defected from the All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressive Grand Alliance and African Democratic Congress. Saraki had, the previous night, been invited to appear before the Special Intelligence Unit of the police at 8am to shed light on the allegation that he was the sponsor of a gang of armed robbers who allegedly murdered 33 people in a bank robbery operation in Offa on April 5, 2018.

Ekweremadu’s home was also reportedly invaded by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other security agents over a money laundering allegation. According to his Special Adviser, Media, Uche Anichukwu, there was no prior invitation to the senator by any of the security agencies or the EFCC. Ekweremadu said the plot was actually to prevent him and the Senate President from attending the plenary that fateful Tuesday in order to pave the way for their impeachment by some senators. There was also another that says that the siege was to thwart efforts of some senators to defect from the ruling APC to opposition political parties. Whatever was the motive of the arrowheads and masterminds of the siege on the homes of Saraki and Ekweremadu, it is tantamount to a civilian coup and is condemnable.

It is noteworthy to say that the police were quick to distance themselves from the fruitless siege on the Senate President and Deputy Senate President residences. DCP Jimoh Moshood, spokesman for the Nigeria Police, said the siege at the residence of Senate President Bukola Saraki was “stage-managed for public sentiments”. How so? He further volunteered that over 140 security personnel of the police were attached to the National Assembly “and about 40 are attached to the Senate President, including other units”. Is it actually beyond the Nigeria Police to orchestrate this aborted siege?

The raging gale of defections is not limited to the Senate; the same day as 14 senators defected from the APC to other opposition parties, 37 House of Representatives members also followed suit. Even at the state level, Governor Samuel Ortom officially defected on Wednesday, July 25 from the ruling APC to the PDP together with some of his aides, Local Government chairpersons and lawmakers. Since these mass defections happened last week, there have been attempts to criminalise the action by some political analysts. While it may be morally wrong for politicians to defect, it is however not illegal. It should be noted that defection is part of our political gimmicks and is backed by Section 68(1)(g) of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, as amended.  Cross-carpeting from one political party to another is not a Nigerian phenomenon but a global act. It also did not start in this republic; right from the First Republic, through to second and third, defection or cross-carpeting has been the norm. It happens more on the eve of any general election. In 2014/15, the APC, then a new political bride, was the major beneficiary of defection as many heavyweight politicians dumped the then ruling PDP to pitch their tent with the newly formed party.

For Ortom, unless he is able to outsmart his traducers, he may not be allowed to complete his tenure in office as eight Benue lawmakers led by the impeached Speaker, Terkibir Ikyange, served an impeachment notice on him on Monday, July 30, 2018. This newspaper reported that the eight lawmakers accused the governor of alleged fraudulent activities, non-payment of workers’ salaries and non-performance. The members were said to have moved into the assembly complex amidst tight security provided by the police around 6am. The session, it was gathered, lasted for about one hour during which the members suspended the 15 lawmakers loyal to the governor. The house has 30 members .The group loyal to the governor led by the new Speaker, Titus Uba, claimed to have 22 members and the other group loyal to Senator George Akume have eight members. Recall that last week Tuesday, 22 out of 30 members of the state House had impeached the Speaker of the House, Ikyange; his deputy, Mrs James Okefe; and the Majority Leader, Benjamin Adanyi, for alleged abuse of office.

While the Benue drama is unfolding, the same Monday, July 30, Imo State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere, who had been having a running battle with his principal, Governor Rochas Okorocha, was impeached by the state House of Assembly despite a restraining order of the court.  He was sacked by 19 of the 27 members Assembly. The Assembly had earlier received a report by a seven-member panel set up by the state Chief Judge which allegedly indicted the deputy governor of gross misconduct. The sacking occurred at about the same time a court in the state barred the lawmakers from removing Madumere from office.

As if last Monday was dedicated for impeachment around the country, that same day, the Kano State House of Assembly impeached its Speaker, Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, alongside two other principal officers. Ata was replaced by the immediate past Speaker, Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, who was impeached over alleged bribery scandal.

The defections and impeachments were not as saddening as the assassination of Sunny Ejiagwu, the All Progressives Congress chairman in Ideato North Local Government of Imo State, on Friday, July 27, 2018.Ejiagwu, popularly known as Ohanaeze, was one of the 27 LGAs chairmen inaugurated on Monday, July 23 by the new state chairman, Daniel Nwafor, after the state APC rescheduled election as ordered by the court.

These highlighted developments in our polity in the last one week are worrisome and heart-rending. Can’t we play politics without bitterness in Nigeria? Why must political disagreements result in defections, impeachments and deaths? If all these are happening before party primaries scheduled to start this new month, what do we hope to see when the nomination race and campaigns get underway? It is despicable to continue to lose lives ahead of every major election. Most mind-boggling is the fact that less than 200 days to the commencement of polls, the funding for that major electoral project is still unavailable as the National Assembly did not approve the late request by the President for the virement of N242bn meant for the conduct of the 2019 elections before hurriedly going on two months annual recess last week Tuesday. So much for a nation on political tenterhook!