Atiku berates Matawalle over Gusau, flays trivialisation of impeachment for personal vengeance

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Friday berated Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State over instigating the impeachment of Deputy Governor Mahdi Gusau for refusing to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The former vice president, accordingly, condemned the impeachment of the Zamfara State Deputy, Governor Mahdi Aliyu Gusau, by the House of Assembly on what he calls “petty political reasons” rather than public interest.

Atiku in a statement on Friday, declared: “I am embarrassed by the trivialisation of impeachment for personal vengeance by political leaders, contrary to the intentions of the framers of our constitution.

“The  ill-advised idea behind the impeachment is an affront to the ideals of democracy and human rights which, regrettably and ironically, the parliament is meant to protect.”

The former vice president warned of the “dangers of toying with the constitution and using it for purposes that harm our democracy and public interest.”

The Waziri Adamawa added that no one deserved to be persecuted using the instrument of the constitution for exercising his right to freedom of association or political affiliation.

He explained that “the constitution is not intended as a tool for fighting perceived political opponents,” adding that “marginalising a deputy governor and rendering him irrelevant and then accusing him of not performing his duties is gross injustice.”