The suspended Plateau
State governor, Chief
Joshua Dariye has declared that he is not afraid of the purported plan to impeach him from office at the expiration of the six months state of emergency imposed on the state.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust in Jos, Chief Dariye declared, “if you say you will impeach me, there must be evidence to show my offence while in office.”
Dariye spoke at the wake of the recent re-admission of the ANPP gubernatorial can-didate, Commodore Jonah Jang (rtd) into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) amidst speculation that the party will field him at a by-election after the removal of Chief Dariye from office.
“Many people aspired to be president of this country but God chose president Obasanjo, and there is not-hing anybody can do about it until his tenure expires. That was the same way I won election in 1999 when I contested against politicians that know the game (of pol-itics) more than I do, but God chose me to become the governor today,” he declared.
According to him, the sit-uation was the same in 2003 when he re-contested and won the election “against all odds.”
Speaking on his activities outside office, the susp-ended governor said he dev-otes much of his time to prayers. “I first of all in the morning pray to thank God for giving me life, then I also pray for the country in general.
Chief Dariye said he decided to remain in Jos des-pite the suspension, “beca-use I have great respect for the electorates who gave me the mandate.”
“If the people don’t like me, I wouldn’t have stayed here in Bukuru because they would have sent me away. But I am always with the people and that is why today I am a free person,” he declared.
Meanwhile, Northern Speakers Forum has condemned the subtle moves to scuttle the mandate of the susp-ended Plateau state legislature, saying the declaration of emergency rule should not be used against the law-makers.
A communiqué issued after the meeting of the forum in Gusau, called on the National Conference of Speakers to initiate meetings with the leadership of the National Assembly and the presidency to restore democ-ratic structures in the state.
The communiqué, signed by the forum’s chairman, who is also the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Alhaji Isa Ibrahim, noted with concern, the lingering issue of local gover-nment joint accounts Bill pending before the National Assembly.
It therefore urged the Conference of Speakers to re-present its position to the federal government for cons-ideration.
The meeting observed with satisfaction, the efforts of the federal government on the Ajaokuta Steel Company and urged it to continue in that spirit to ensure its speedy completion.
On the 2005 census, the forum directed members to ensure proper and optimum sensitisation and mobilisation of their constituents for the head count.
