lives while one person was wounded in Nasarawa State on
Thursday, 17 July, 2014, due to fierce clashes over the start
of impeachment proceedings against Governor of the state,
Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.
According to a report published by the Leadership
newspaper, the tragic clashes ensued between Gwandara
and Eggon youths who were against each other over the
impeachment proceedings being taken by the Nasarawa
state House of Assembly against Governor Al-Makura.
It was gathered that the immediate cause of the fierce
battle was when some armed Gwandara youths stormed
the house of an Eggon man situated around Old Alamis
Market and set it ablaze along with his car.
Many governorship posters of information minister Labaran
Maku were said to have been pasted on the walls of the
house.
Maku, is of the Eggon extraction whereas Governor Al-
Makura is of Gwandara ethnic stock; the latter are
considered one of the smallest ethnic nationalities in the
state.
* File photo
While confirming the incident, Nasarawa state police public
relations officer, Ismaila Numan, said the house was burnt
in the early hours of Thursday but he did not confirm who
was responsible.
It was however, found out by newsmen that the
impeachment notice served on the governor by the state
lawmakers did not go down well with the Gwandara youths
who resorted to violent protests to register their anger.
A source, who did not want his identity revealed, informed
that the Gwandara youths are of the opinion that the
impeachment move was an attempt to remove their
kinsman to pave way for an Eggon man to replace him.
The Gwandara are said to be accusing the Eggon elite of
being behind the woes of the governor, leading to the
impeachment process by the state legislators.
When newsmen visited the scene of the clash, one of the
warring youths was seen with a deep machete cut in the
upper arm as he was being taken to a hospital for
medication.
Also, burnt-down commercial tricycles littered the area even
as shops and other business premises hurriedly closed for
fear of being vandalized.
Meanwhile the wife of Governor Al-Makura, Hajiya
Salamatu Al-Makura has called on the people of Nasarawa
state to remain calm as various women groups took to the
streets on Thursday to protest the impeachment notice
served on the governor.
Mrs Al-Makura, while addressing the protesters at the
government house in Lafia, urged them to be very prayerful
and not take laws into their hands.
* Governor Al-Makura
"I would like to urge you all to intensify your prayers for
God to take charge of the situation as nothing is beyond
him to handle," the first lady stated .
It could be recalled that the Nasarawa State House of
Assembly had on Monday, 14 July, 2014, sat for only 15
minutes and passed a resolution for impeachment notice
against Al-Makura.
The Assembly further directed its Clerk to serve the
governor, saying that if he was unable to serve him with the
notice, he should proceed to serve him through the media.
While answering questions from journalists in Jos, the
Plateau State capital, on Thursday, Governor Al-Makura
attributed his present impeachment travails to the
handiwork of the Presidency in Abuja.
The governor made this statement through his senior special
assistant on public affairs, Abdulhamid Yakubu Kwarra,
According to the spokesman, the impeachment move is
meant to destabilize APC-controlled states in the country.
"They are threatened by the monumental achievements of
the APC administration in Nasarawa State; there is no
administration that is as corrupt as the present PDP-led
government in the country.
"Authorities in Abuja should stop the bull from entering a
china shop. They are opening a new war front; they should
address the issue of the insecurity and Chibok girls instead
of chasing shadows in the country," Kwarra said.
As at the time of compiling this report, the presidential
spokesperson, Dr. Reuben Abati, has not responded to the
development in Nassarawa state.
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