Zamfara State Deputy Governor, Mahdi Aliyu, has again been summoned by the state lawmakers over alleged misconduct.
Trouble began after Mr Aliyu refused defecting to the All Progressive Congress (APC) with his principal, Governor Bello Matawalle.
Mr Matawalle dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last month to join the APC. State and federal lawmakers moved with him but his deputy rebuffed, maintaining his stay in the PDP.
Shortly after the defections, the deputy governor held a political rally that has earned him an accusation from the state lawmakers who said he lacked empathy for the people of Zamfara by going ahead with the rally amid reports of killings by bandits in a local council area of the state.
Alleged moves to impeach him over the development have been thwarted due to an order of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The court on July 19 restrained the state House of Assembly and the Chief Judge of the state from taking steps to impeach him.
During plenary on Tuesday presided over by the speaker of the house, Nasiru Magarya, the lawmakers issued a forty-eight hours ultimatum to Mr Aliyu urging him to appear before them to explain why he went ahead with the political rally.
The summon followed a motion moved by a member of the house, Nasiru Bello, who said the deputy governor was yet to respond to an earlier summon the house extended to him.
“There is the compelling need for the House to still respect the exalted office of the Deputy Governor and give him additional timeframe of 48 hours that’s Thursday 29th July 2021 for him to respond,” Mr Bello said.
His motion was seconded by another member, Shafi’u Dama-Wanke, the member representing Gusau II constituency.
“After careful observation of the request by Mr Bello, the speaker, Nasiru Magarya, referred to his colleagues on whether they agreed to extend 48 hours ultimatum to the Deputy Governor to appear before the House? The members unanimously agreed through a voice vote,” a statement by the assembly’s spokesperson, Mustapha Jafaru, said.
