• Super Admin
• 08 Mar, 2026

March 08, (THEWILL) -- The long expected political move against the Deputy Governor of the state, Aminu Abdulsalam by the powers that be since the defection of Governor Abba Yusuf from the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP to the All Progressives Congress, APC, began with fury on Thursday. The Kano State House of Assembly on that Thursday initiated impeachment proceedings against Abdulsalam, over alleged gross misconduct, abuse of office and breach of public trust. Mr Abdulsalam, a member of the NNPP, declined to join Governor Abba Yusuf and other officials to defect to the APC, in January. He pledged his loyalty to the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement and former governor of the state, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso. He is, in fact, said to be the governorship-candidate in waiting for the political party that his mentor and leader, is expected to move to in the coming days. The political forces are moving ahead of him. The impeachment notice was read during a plenary session presided over by the Speaker, Ismail Falgore, after it was presented by the Majority Leader, Lawan Husseini Dala. Reading the notice on the floor of the House, Dala said the action was taken in line with Section 188 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, which empowers a state legislature to commence impeachment proceedings against a deputy governor over allegations of gross misconduct. The notice accused Abdulsalam of breaching public trust during his tenure as Commissioner for Local Government between 2023 and 2024. He said the action followed a petition submitted by the Executive against Mr Abdulsalam over alleged irregularities during his tenure as Commissioner According to the lawmakers, the deputy governor allegedly received kickbacks of N1.5 million monthly from each of the 44 local government councils in the state between June 2023 and January 2024, amounting to 66 million naira per month and a total of 462 million naira within the seven-month period. The Assembly further alleged that between February and July 2024, Abdulsalam received additional cash returns of 3.255 million naira monthly from each local government council under the guise of executing special assignments, bringing the total amount allegedly received during the period to 726 million naira. The notice also accused him of abusing his office by facilitating the release of 10 million naira from each of the 44 local government councils, totalling 440 million naira, to NovoMed Pharmaceuticals Limited, in alleged contravention of the Kano State Public Procurement Law and Fiscal Management regulations. The lawmakers said the alleged actions amount to gross misconduct as defined under Section 188(2) of the constitution, describing the acts as a violation of constitutional provisions and ethical standards expected of public officials. Following its presentation, Speaker Falgore directed that a notice be formally served on the deputy governor in line with constitutional provisions governing the impeachment procedure. Hon. Hussaini said the deputy governor has a 14-day window to present his defence and should the allegations be proven, the Assembly would remove him from his position in accordance with the Nigerian Constitution. According to the lawmaker, the motion has significant support as 38 out of the 40 lawmakers -- well above the required two-thirds majority -- signed the notice. Curiously, the commencement of the impeachment process comes barely 48 hours after the Assembly said it had no plans to seek the deputy governor's removal. The Kwankwasiyya Movement, the NNPP and the Arewa Consultative Forum have reacted to the development, calling on the government to reject any move that may plunge the state into another round of political crisis. A spokesperson for the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Mansur Umar Kurugu, who cautioned the lawmakers against the move warned that any attempt to impeach the deputy government would plunge the state into a political crisis, saying the movement rejected the process in its entirety. He said the decision came as a surprise to members of the movement and the NNPP, insisting that the deputy governor had not committed any offence warranting impeachment. Kurugu also questioned whether "due process was being followed, noting that the Constitution provides a structured procedure, including the constitution of an investigative panel before further action can be taken." In its reaction, the NNPP in Kano cautioned the House of Assembly against taking steps that could trigger political instability in the state. The party's publicity secretary, Engr. Ibrahim Karaye, urged the lawmakers to exercise restraint and respect democratic principles. The party stressed that "elected officials should not be coerced into taking decisions against their political beliefs, particularly amid ongoing political realignments in the state." Efforts to obtain the reaction of the deputy governor through his spokesperson, Ibrahim Garba, were unsuccessful, as calls and text messages sent to his phone line were not responded to as of the time of filing this report. The apex northern socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has described the reported impeachment notice served Gwarzo as a minus for the development of democracy in the country. National Publicity Secretary, Prof. T. A. Muhammad-Baba, told a national newspaper the decision of the deputy government to remain in the NNPP, while his boss, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf defected to the ruling APC, was the motivation for the impeachment move. "This is something that was foreseen. Since the matter of the governor's defection to the APC and the deputy governor's refusal to follow, we knew something like this would happen. As you know, in Nigeria, if you want to attach a fault to anyone, you can do it, he told the newspaper, adding that, "So, let us wait for the process to go through and we will see. But it is something everyone should have foreseen because we are not doing things according to rules and regulations. We are just doing things according to how we want them to be. It is very disappointing and it is a minus for democratic development in Nigeria." Meanwhile, the man at the middle of the storm has kept mum and every effort by the journalists to get his reaction has failed as he has refrained from speaking about his travail. Source: https://thewillnews.com/kano-deputy-gov-going-going-going/