By Auwalu Abdulqadir
As the unfolding Drama between the Kano state House of assembly and the former chairman of Kano state public complaints and Anti-corruption commission continued, the general public has been awash with fallacies since a committee was constituted by the state assembly to investigate the so-called allegations being meted against Barrister Magaji while he was at the office.
The nitty-gritty of law-making requires experience devoid of political interference, but the legislature has thrown itself into futility and derails from its main function of making good laws which they were elected to do.
Now they have executed the main hatched job which they were scripted to do on behalf of the executive arm of government.
.Sometimes I wondered how scriptwriters work hard to film a whole movie into real-life stories to which the Kano legislature did a few months back as if My Boss Muhuyi Magaji Rimin Gado is their only legislative agenda in the third quarter of the year 2021.
From the committee, they set up in a closed-door meeting to suspension, then asking my boss to appear before them and then making the world believe that he falsified medical report, blab la bla.
Lawmakers are now making the most populous state in Nigeria a laughing stock in the eyes of the world.
The lawmaking body’s probe of Barrister Muhuyi revolves around one thing, that is the issue of posting an accountant to his office which led to suspension, then asking him to appear before them despite his health challenges and now recommending his removal which was the main goal of his detractors and those that don’t want to see the fight against corruption by my boss succeed in Kano.
Every individual in and around the world is much aware of a story uncovered by one of the investigative online media in Nigeria, The Daily Nigerian, and others on a plot to remove the most celebrated Anti-graft boss among the 36 states of the Federation.
The story on the plan to remove him went viral on the 27th of June 2021, and the Kano state legislature went Gaga the following week through diversionary tactics, and here is where we are that is the 26th of July recommending his final removal as the Anti Graft boss.
The reason why I said diversionary tactics was that the story broken on the 27th of June on a plot to remove Muhyi Magaji from his position has now come to reality.
They are now telling the public all sorts of stories through misleading information.
Now taken us back a little on how the scenario started, on June 27th Daily Nigerian and other online mediums carried the following story exactly as follows.
“’ Plot to remove the chairman of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission, PCAC, Muhuyi Rimingado, has thickened as Governor Abdullahi Ganduje allegedly mounts pressure on the State Assembly to execute the hatchet the job.
Informed sources at the Assembly said that the governor wanted the legislators to remove the state anti-corruption commission boss for poke nosing into his family’s affairs.
“There is actually a plot, with the governor as arrowhead, to remove Muhuyi. Although the governor did not specifically state Muhuyi’s offense, he just wanted him out of that office.
“You know in the governor’s usual antics of pushing the legislature to take the bullet for him. Remember he did the same when he wanted to get rid of his former deputy, Hafiz Abubakar, and former Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II,” said a legislator familiar with the plot.
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On the possibility of executing the governor’s bidding, the lawmaker said majority members of the Assembly are rubber-stamps.
The crisis began early this month when Mr. Rimingado beamed his searchlight into the contracts allegedly awarded to companies linked to the governor’s family.
In a letter sighted with reference number PCACC/CM/OFF/VOL.1/071 dated June 10, 2021, and signed by the chairman of the commission, Muhuyi Rimingado, the commission requested the commissioner of the Ministry of Works to provide information relating to the construction of Cancer Center and the supply of diesel by the state government.
“In the exercise of its powers under Section 9 and Section 15 of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission Law 2008 (as amended), the Commission is currently conducting an investigation which requires you to provide the following details:-
“(a) All documents relating to Cancer Centre
“(b) All documents pertaining to procurement of Diesel.
“(c) Any other information that will aid the Commission’s investigation.”
Credible sources told this newspaper that bulk diesel supply in government ministries, departments and agencies is allegedly the exclusive preserve of the first family.
It was gathered that the contract for the construction of the Cancer Centre, allegedly believed to be handled by a proxy of the first family, is undergoing a series of variations, which calls for concern of the commission.
The contract for the Cancer Centre was initially awarded at the cost of N2.4 billion but currently stands at over N5billion due to a series of variations.
It was gathered that there is alleged round-tripping in the diesel supply contracts, such that funds were allegedly released without the supply of the commodity.
Mr Rimingado, a lawyer, recently came under fire for his failure to investigate the governor’s corruption, particularly the dollar bribe-taking videos exposed by this newspaper in October 2018.
Efforts to speak with Mr Rimingado on his removal plan proved abortive as he barred incoming calls into his known telephone number.
A spokesman for the governor Abba Anwar did not pick our reporter’s calls, nor respond to a text message seeking the governor’s response on the matter’’
Daily Nigerian
The following week after 27th June Daily Nigerian and other publications were vindicated when the House suspended my boss from office without giving him a fair hearing.
The content of the above story is yet to be answered by the state legislature and July 27 is where we are that is recommending his removal by the assembly based on the following flimsy excuses.
If people like Timi the Law are alive and Human Rights lawyer Gani Fawehenmi, they will weep on how the law-making process in Nigeria has been bastardized by no one other than those who are supposed to uphold its sanctity and protect it.
Can we say we are in a paramilitary era where trump up charges are instituted on military officers by their military superiors just to get rid of certain individuals they are not pleased with by making them heroes of their own time?
Now people and expert jurists should look at this and see how the state assembly executed what it was set to do.
The report on that made Headlines on the removal of my boss goes as follows.
“ Kano State House of Assembly has today in its plenary session received a report of the House Adhoc Committee on the investigation of a petition received by the House from the office of the Accountant General of the State against Muhuyi Magaji esq.
The Adhoc Committee Chairman Umar Musa Gama presented the report before the Honourable House where the House deliberated and agreed on the recommendation of the Committee.
Among the recommendation as Stated by the Majority Leader Labaran Abdul Madari in a chat with journalists after the sitting includes;
That the House should recommend the immediate removal of Muhuyi Magaji esq by the State Government as the suspended Chairman of the Public Complain and Anti Corruption Commission as provided by Section 6 of the Anti Corruption Law 2010 as amended which provides that,
“The Chairman or any other member of the Commission appointed under this Law may at any time be removed from office by the Governor acting upon a resolution supported by simple majority of the members of the State House of Assembly, praying that he be removed from office for inability to discharge effectively the functions of his office or for any other reason.”
The Committee further recommends the arrest, investigation, and prosecution of Muhuyi Magaji esq for the offenses of forgery and presenting false information to public office under sections 262,363,364 and 161 of the penal code of Kano State as amended.
Similarly, the Committee recommends that the said Accountant staff on grade level 04 should be dealt with in accordance with Kano State Civil Service rules whereas the rejected Chief Accountant by the suspended Chairman should be directed to take over the affairs of the Account Department of the Commission.
Later the House set up an Adhoc Committee under the Chairmanship of the Deputy Speaker Zubairu Hamza Masu to investigate the financial dealings of the Commission from 2015 to date and to submit a report within three months.
As at today, the House of Assembly has not received a court order on this matter.
The above-itemized issues have shown how the house is making a mockery of the law, first by including an item that has never been a subject of their investigation, that is the so-called forgery they said he has committed when they made it mandatory that he must appear before them.
Now since chief executives are making a faux pass in dealing with the judiciary, the legislative arm of government has now followed suit, that is ignoring court orders, the court order was given three days to their sitting and despite the reportage by the press, in their resolution recommending his removal from the office they said they have not received any court order, lawmakers are now ignoring the law which is a pity for the growth and sustenance of democracy.
As the legislative arm of government is independent, one asks why will they not allow government agencies that are independent to discharge their responsibilities.
The reason why the PCACC has had many breakthroughs under the chairmanship of my boss was that he did his best to ensure that its independent and in the course of doing that the legislature was teleguided to use that in removing Barrister Muhuyi Magaji.
In order to justify their flimsy excuse in suspending and recommending the sack of Barrister Muhuyi, just because he wanted to assert the independence of the commission they cited the that he rejected an accountant sent to his office, an independent body acts independently and no one should raise an eyebrow.
With the unfolding scenario, the Kano state house of assembly has made a hero in Barrister Muhuyi Magaji Rimin Gado one of the celebrated Anti-corruption Czar.
The Yet to be answered Questions by the legislature
From the diversionary tactics of the legislature and to sweep things under the carpet during Barrister Muhyi’s Melodrama scripted by the lawmakers they once claim to have constituted another committee to investigate the finances of the commission,but nothing was heard from a mere mention.
Another gullibility they played with the people of Kano and other Nigerians was that since there was already a conspiracy to deal with him they went ahead to flout a court order restraining them from investigating him by a court of competent jurisdiction which made people to smell a rat in the pot of chickens,at the end, they have shown that they are their own judges.
Now they have made people to believe that Muhuyi Magaji’s fight against corruption is a nuisance to them and their pay masters.
The media is much aware how a committee was set up to scrutinize the finances of the commission and then later shifted the issue to the allegation of forgery and all was done without giving the accused a fair hearing.
The issue of forgery need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt before condemning the person of Muhyi Magaji and in all the accusations he has never been allowed to prove his innocence what a pity
Auwalu Abdulqadir is the personal assistant to Barrister Muhuyi Magaji Rimin Gado
