|
More reactions trail Nwafor
More reactions trail Nwafor’s pardon
•He couldn’t have been removed
-- Anenih
MATTHEW OGWUCHE, Bureau Chief, Abuja
SIMON IBE, Political Editor, Lagos, NDIDI OKAFOR, Abuja and
JAYNE OSONDU, Umuahia
BOARD
of Trustees Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony
Anenih, has dismissed the pardon granted Abia State Deputy Governor, Dr. Chima
Nwafor, by the state House of Assembly, saying that he did nothing wrong to
warrant impeachment in the first place.
Chief Anenih stated this just as Abia
State Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Mr.
Venatius Ikem and Senator Chris Adighije commended the state Assembly for
letting the Deputy Governor off the hook.
Gov. Kalu and his Deputy are scheduled to
be at the Assembly Complex today at noon for a "thank you visit."
Chief Anenih, whose alleged message to
Abia State Gov. Orji Uzor Kalu, through Nwafor sparked the row that led to
impeachment proceedings against the deputy governor, told Daily Champion
yesterday, that he did not expect Nwafor to have been impeached.
"I did not expect him to be impeached,"
Chief Anenih said, asking rhetorically, "do you impeach somebody on frivolous
charges?"
He insisted that he and the party "had
always expected that justice would be done."
But hailing the Assembly’s decision Gov.
Kalu said its action "is an indication of my stand on the matter and also your
election to join me in emphasising the things that unite our people.
In a six-paragraph letter to the Speaker
dated August 31, Governor Kalu said: "May I therefore, thank you for heeding to
my plea and most especially that of the President Olusegun Obasanjo and other
well-endowed Nigerians."
"By your act, you have demonstrated your
maturity, resilience, independence and commitment to the pursuit of peace and
the progress in our dear State, Abia.
"You have equally shown yourselves as
people who are not oblivious of the yearnings of the people of Abia State for
unity and accelerated development.
"Your six-point resolutions further
indicate your high regards and respect for the leadership for our greawt party,
PDP," Kalu further said in the letter.
Meanwhile, the visit of the governor and
his deputy to the Assembly today during the House sitting is to say thank you
and address the lawmakers "on some important state matters."
Commissioners and prominent members of the
party are expected to accompany them.
National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ikem
described the state Assembly’s decision as a welcome development and highly
appreciated.
Speaking with Daily Champion on
telephone in Abuja, Ikem said the Assembly’s action indicated that "our appeals
for peace have finally been adhered to."
"The party is also of the view that by
this decision, members of the State Assembly have shown that they are good party
men and women who are ready to listen to the party," he added.
He said with this development, the party
is hopeful that "all other ancilliary issues surrounding this controversy will
now be resolved."
In his reaction, Senator Adighije
(representing Abia Central) commended the state legislature for forgiving Dr.
Nwafor even though he was found guilty by the Emma Nwaonye judicial panel which
investigated allegations of gross misconduct against him.
Adighije told journalists in Abuja
yesterday that "he (Nwafor) had been found guilty and forgiven. The pardon is
genuine."
He advised Nwafor to go about his job with
dedication, saying "he will be able to blend with the situation properly. The
decision is a mature way of resolution."
|
