Citizens of Jigawa state in the North-western Nigeria under the auspices
of Jigawa Professionals have shown their anger over the case of alleged
money laundering and misappropriation of state funds by Governor Sule
Lamido and his sons as they call for his immediate resignation or
impeachment by the state House of Assembly.
In a statement signed by Mallam Sani Zorro and Alhaji Ishaq Hadejia, made
available to Pointlanknews.com, Monday after noon, they insisted that the
allegations made against the Lamidos by the Department of State Services
(DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) remain
damaging enough to compel Governor Lamido to honourable resign or face
impeachment by the State House of Assembly.
Their demands include, “immediate, unconditional resignation of Governor
Sule Lamido of Jigawa state to pave way for comprehensive and unhindered
investigations into the allegations, and also provide the governor with
the opportunity to clear himself of the allegations.”
Mallam Sani Zoro, former national president of the Nigeria Union of
Journalists, [NUJ] and Alhaji Ishaq Hadejia expressed great concern over
the magnitude of the allegations and the gravity of the charges made
against them by both EFCC and the DSS.
Following the allegations, the group demanded for the immediate
resignation of Sule Lamido as governor of Jigawa state, to pave way for
comprehensive and unhindered investigations into the allegations, and also
provide the governor with the opportunity to clear himself of the
allegations leveled against his two sons.
The statement further noted that “in the alternative, all members of
Jigawa state House of Assembly should cooperate to facilitate the
governor’s immediate impeachment to salvage tge integrity of our innocent
citizens, failing which we would be compelled to embark all necessary
measures to retrieve the collapsing image and glory of the state.
“That the people of Jigawa state, however, not surprised by either the
allegations or the arraignment of the governor’s sons before the law court
as their involvement in government activities and transactions are open
secrets, leading to allegations of their involvement in massive plunder of
the resources of our helpless citizens”.
“That the people of Jigawa state are not only outraged, but are
collectively ashamed by the unprecedented crudity involved in the
accumulated theft of Jigawa’s Billions of Naira, allegedly under the
watch, direction and supervision of the father-governor.
“We further wish to warn against the use of the resources of our state to
facilitate the legal defence of the two accused persons, as they have no
legal status whatsoever, and are therefore been charged in their
individual capacities.
“We urge Nigerians not to dismiss this grave allegations as there cannot
be smoke without fire, and hereby call on all authorities charged with
fighting heinous crimes in Nigeria and beyond to spread their dragnet far
and wide, to ensure comprehensive investigations, capable of unraveling
the scale and magnitude of the alleged theft of our resources for which
the two accused sons of the governor will now stand trial, together with
their father-governor, as facilitator/accomplice.
The statement also stated that as informed and responsible citizens with
insight into the conduct of governance in that state, we urge all
Nigerians and the anticorruption organizations to take keen interest in
this unfolding revelations of unspeakable proportions, and as the drama
promises to be a mere tip of the ice-berg in what can possible become the
governor’s legacy of double-standards, pretentious claim to progressive
causes and mass deceit over the years.
“For any investigation to be meaningful, according to the group, all the
governor’s suspected associates, especially Nigerians and Lebanese, their
construction companies and others would need to be invited for
interrogation concerning multi-billion Naira projects, such as the dubious
Jigawa state Airport, Judicial complex, School of Nursing and Midwifery,
official residences of Local Government Chairman, purchase of official
vehicles at ridiculous prices and hiring of private jets.
The group finally called on conscientious citizens of Jigawa state to
welcome this God-given opportunity, to liberate the state from the imposed
poverty, ignorance and despotic rule of the present governor and his
acolytes.