Plans to impeach Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, are now underway, Quest Times can exclusively and authoritatively report.
In separate chats with our reporter, members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly disclosed that moves to impeach El-Rufai have now reached an advanced stage.
The relationship between the governor and the Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Alhaji Yusuf Zailani, has been frosty for quite some time now, Quest Times has learnt.
State lawmakers are currently investigating the expenditures of all the ministries, agencies and parastatals of the state government.
One legislator tells Quest Times on condition of anonymity, that the lawmakers have already established 11 prima facie grounds of corruption against Governor El-Rufai.
“We are currently undertaking oversight function on all ministries, agencies and parastatals. The reason for this oversight function is to get cast-iron, fool-proof alibi to impeach the governor.
“We have already uncovered mind-blowing corruption. One of such discoveries is the award of contracts without due process and the discovery of how Governor El-Rufai awarded contracts to his cronies and family members without due process or advertisements.
“We have also uncovered attempts by Governor El-Rufai to collect an N80B loan from one of the commercial banks, without the knowledge of the State Assembly.
“The lawmakers, upon finding out, have already written to the bank against granting such a loan,” one lawmaker who pleaded that his name be left out of this story, confided in Quest Times.
Relationship with Speaker gone sour
Quest Times also gathered that several attempts by the El-Rufai administration to impeach the speaker, who has since fallen out with the governor, have been unsuccessful, as majority of the lawmakers vowed to stand with the speaker.
“The lawmakers have even taken oaths with the Bible and the Qur’an not to ever visit the Government House for any reason and to also stand with the speaker,” another source adds.
Quest Times also gathered that Deputy Speaker, Dr. Isaac Auta, recently dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and has pitched tent with Peter Obi’s Labour Party, thereby swelling the ranks of the opposition in the House to 15.
Speaker Zailani fell out with the governor for many reasons, chief of which was the way and manner APC Governorship candidate for the 2023 vote, Sen. Uba Sani, was forced on party members, Quest Times learnt.
“There was a time the security personnel attached to the speaker were all removed. The speaker had to run to Abuja before his operatives were restored.
“I can confirm to you that moves to impeach the governor are real, the lawmakers are working seriously on this. They want to present water-tight evidence. They are not happy with the way and manner the governor has been running Kaduna State,” the source adds.
Kaduna residents have long accused the House of being a shameless “rubber stamp” since the emergence of El-Rufai as Governor of the State in 2015.
A former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), 62-year-old El-Rufai is due to complete his constitutionally permissible two-terms of eight years in office in 2023.
Attempts to speak to the governor or any of his aides for a reaction to this story proved futile, as calls and text messages dispatched where neither responded to nor returned.