By SaharaReporters, New York
The long-running political battle between the Presidency and the Group of 7 Governors of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party took a new twist Monday as two professionals from Jigawa State accused Governor Sule Lamido of engaging in money laundering, and demanded his resignation or impeachment.
Mr. Lamido, who is a member of the dissident G7 governors, and his son, Aminu Lamido were the targets of the professionals’ ire.
The call for the governor’s resignation or impeachment was contained in a press statement titled, “Call for immediate Resignation/Impeachment of Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State.” The signatories expressed outrage and embarrassment at what they alleged to be the governor’s primitive looting of Jigawa State treasury.
The statement was signed by Sani Zoro, a former national president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), and Ishaq Hadejia.
The statement, which was given to SaharaReporters in Kano, drew attention to the magnitude of the allegations of money laundering which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had compiled against Governor Lamido.
The statement demanded the “immediate and unconditional resignation of Sule Lamido as Governor to pave [the] way for more quick and comprehensive, unhindered investigations into the allegations and also provide the governor with the opportunity to clear himself where necessary in the whole allegations.”
Should the governor not resign, the signatories called on the Jigawa State House of Assembly to commence his impeachment in order to salvage the integrity of the indigenes of the State.
The signatories said they were not surprised by the money laundering allegations against the governor or the fact that two of the governor’s sons have been arraigned for corruption, adding that Mr. Lamido’s sons had been involved in government transactions in Jigawa. The two men who signed the statement accused the governor’s sons of involvement in massive plundering of the state’s resources.
The statement warned “against the use of our state money to facilitate the legal defense of the two accused persons as they have no legal status whatsoever,” adding that the two sons “are being charged in their individual capacity.”
The statement also called on the EFCC to investigate the friends and cronies of Governor Lamido in order to retrieve any state funds the governor may have given to them.
In a response, Ali Gantsa, the Jigawa State Secretary of the PDP, dismissed the allegations against the governor. He said the accusations against Mr. Lamido were unfounded, adding that many eminent Nigerians regarded the governor as a better alternative to President Goodluck Jonathan who he described as woeful failure.
He added that such politicians as former military dictators Ibrahim Babangida and Olusegun Obasanjo had seen good leadership qualities in Mr. Lamido.
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