Resign Now Or You Will Be Impeached - Jigawa Professionals Warn Gov Lamido

The ongoing political struggle between the Presidency and G-7 Governors of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a new twist on November 18, Monday, as two professionals from Jigawa State accused Governor Sule Lamido of engaging in money laundering, and demanded his resignation or impeachment.

Gov. Lamido, who is a member of the dissident group of governors, and his son, Aminu Lamido were the targets of the professionals’ anger.
The call for the governor’s resignation or impeachment was contained in a press statement titled, “Call for immediate Resignation/Impeachment of Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State.” The signatories expressed outrage and embarrassment at what they alleged to be the governor’s primitive looting of Jigawa State treasury.

The statement was signed by Sani Zoro, a former national president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, and Ishaq Hadejia.
The statement demanded the “immediate and unconditional resignation of Sule Lamido as Governor to pave [the] way for more quick and comprehensive, unhindered investigations into the allegations and also provide the governor with the opportunity to clear himself where necessary in the whole allegations.”

Should the governor not resign, the signatories called on the Jigawa State House of Assembly to commence his impeachment in order to salvage the integrity of the indigenes of the State.
The signatories said they were not surprised by the money laundering allegations against the governor or the fact that two of the governor’s sons have been arraigned for corruption, adding that Mr. Lamido’s sons had been involved in government transactions in Jigawa. The two men who signed the statement accused the governor’s sons of involvement in massive plundering of the state’s resources.

The statement also called onthe Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate the friends and cronies of Governor Lamido in order to retrieve any state funds the governor may have given to them.
Ali Gantsa, the Jigawa State Secretary of the PDP, dismissed the allegations against Gov. Lamido. He said the accusations against Mr. Lamido were unfounded, adding that many eminent Nigerians regarded the governor as a better alternative to President Goodluck Jonathan who he described as woeful failure.
The secretary also pointed out that such politicians as former military dictators Ibrahim Babangida and Olusegun Obasanjo had seen good leadership qualities in Mr. Lamido.