Governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State has accused the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF) Senator Anyim Pius Anyim of undermining the re-election programmes of President Goodluck Jonathan as well as masterminding his impeachment.

This is as 15 members of the State House of Assembly ratified constitutional breaches allegedly committed by Elechi and therefore served him impeachment notice.

In a state-wide broadcast to the people of Ebonyi State yesterday morning, Governor Elechi declared that though he had been reading about the rumours of his impeachment on the pages of newspapers, recent developments both in the state and at Abuja had shown that the SGF was behind the whole political crisis in the state.

Elechi added: “It is no longer secret that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, recently made a frantic effort to get the enlarged caucus meeting of the PDP pass a resolution for the impeachment of Chief Martin Elechi, the Governor of Ebonyi State.

“It is also common knowledge that the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria and National Leader of the ruling PDP, stoutly opposed such a measure and preferred the path of reconciliation.

“What is important is not the clamour for Elechi’s impeachment, which can happen like any other event; what is important is that the people of Nigeria in general and the powers that be, in particular, should be properly informed as to whose role is working adversely on the President’s electoral fortune”.

“The Ebonyi Chief executive traced the genesis of the crisis bedeviling Ebonyi State chapter of the party, stressing that when the former State chairman, Prince Ugorji Ama-Oti, resigned his position as chairman on October 20, 2014 to enable him contest election, his deputy, Onwe Joseph Onwe, was allowed to act as chairman, pending the election of a substantive chairman.

“The Governor noted that after President Jonathan announced his intention to contest the 2015 presidential election, he organized a mammoth rally at Abakaliki Sports Stadium on November 22, 2014 to solicit support of Ebonyi people to President Jonathan’s election bid regretting that the rally in Abakaliki was boycotted by Deputy Governor and governorship aspirant, Chief Dave Umahi, his campaign organization, the Speaker of Ebonyi Assembly, the Senatorial aspirants of Ebonyi Central and North Senatorial zones as well as the SGF.

“Following the huge success recorded in the outing, these same absentees from the rally placed an advertorial in a national newspaper, claiming the glory and self-congratulations for the success of the rally “organized by them’’; it was clear that the battle line had been drawn,” Elechi declared.

The governor lamented that no day passed without one or more national dailies reporting the thickening of impeachment plot against him adding that the reports border on efforts to assemble sufficient number of signatories or investigation to justify the impeachment,

He added: “It is interesting for Nigerians to know that the decision to impeach the Governor preceded the finding of justifiable reasons to do so; simply a case of giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it…But because there have been no justifiable reasons, many honourable members of Ebonyi State House of Assembly received threat messages to either append their signatures or risk assassination and or kidnap of their family members.

“Others are coerced from the National Headquarters of the PDP to give their bank particulars so that (inducement) money will be paid into them. The accused agents in this regard are, respectively, Uche Secondus, (Deputy National Chairman) and Olisah Metu, (National Publicity Secretary). In consequence of the foregoing, many members of the Assembly have either fled the State or are in hiding”.

In an eight count charge signed by fifteen lawmakers and read on the floor of the house by the Acting Leader, Ogbonnaya Nwifuru, the lawmakers contended that the alleged gross misconduct was a clear violation of the constitution, which prompted them to endorse the notice of impeachment on the governor.

THISDAY gathered that the notice of the impeachment was not a surprise in the state following the lingering rift between Elechi and the state legislators.

The lawmakers posited that contrary to and in breach of the express provisions of Sections 7 and 8 of the Ebonyi State Local Government Councils and Development Centres (Amendment) Law No.007 of 2007, Elechi appointed and inaugurated twenty eight persons as coordinators of the centres without prior screening and confirmation by the simple majority of the state house of assembly.

The embattled governor was also alleged to have appointed and inaugurated the 13 Chairmen Caretaker Committees of the various local government councils and appointed chairmen and members of the state Independent Electoral Commission, Local government Service Commission, Secondary Education Board, Universal Basic Education Board and others without the confirmation by the state house of assembly.

The house also accused the governor for obtaining a loan of N3 billion in August 2014 from First Bank of Nigeria Plc repayable within 11 months to be completed in May, 2015 on behalf of the state government without obtaining the necessary consent of the state house of assembly.

They also alleged that the state government spent N 6,617,000 in incorporating the Ebonyi Oil and Gas Development Co. Ltd with two hundred million ordinary shares in 2013 and allegedly allocated 100, 000, 000 controlling shares to Edon (Nig) Ltd, represented by Edward Nkwegu;  25, 000, 000 shares to Elechi’s son, Nnanna; 25, 000, 000 shares to Best Southern Global and “surprisingly given the financier which is the state government a minority shareholding of 50, 000, 000”.

The lawmakers further alleged that Edon, a contractor abandoned the Ebonyi International Trade Center, which Elechi had allegedly approved its over-inflation to N2, 475, 114, 9998.50 and the sum of N790, 221,833.25 paid to Edon and notwithstanding the purported abandonment, Elechi went ahead to award the construction of the International Market to Edon at a whopping sum of N3, 676,942,825.70.

According to them, the governor also allegedly approved the increase of the contract sum by an additional sum of N39, 204, 44.00, yet “the contract remains abysmally performed and is far from completion”, which its completion date was fixed for October 2013.

The other allegation was that the state government allegedly spent several millions of naira carrying out exploratory core drilling aimed at ascertaining the quality and quantity of limestone suitable for cement production and 175, 000, 000 controlling shares were allocated to Edon; one Chief Linus Nwamba got 25, 000, 000 shares while the financier, the state government got the minority shareholding of 50, 000, 000 and “neither Edon or Nwamba paid for their shares and yet directors thereof.

Moving the motion, Obasi Odefa said that Elechi should be served the impeachment notice on ground of gross misconduct through publication in any national dailies, local tabloids, and announcement in radio, Television including reporting of proceedings, through courier services, through Elechi’s office or pasting the notice at any public notice board in any of the ministries.

Odefa contended that any of the above means could validate the constitutional requirement to serve the governor. The motion was seconded by Frank Onwe, representing Ohaukwu North Constituency.

The Speaker of the house of the assembly, Chukwuma Nwazunku further adopted and announced that he shall serve the governor through any of the means and it shall stand that the governor has been duly served.

Source: THISDAY