‎Yobe IPAC chairman, secretary reject impeachment

‎The Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council in Yobe State, Umar Jajere, and its Secretary-General, Mustapha Gado, have rejected their purported impeachment, describing the exercise as invalid.
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‎The two officials insisted that they remained the council’s recognised leaders, accusing those behind the move of violating the provisions of the IPAC Code of Conduct (2019).
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‎The officials, who made their position known in a statement on Saturday, said the purported impeachment contravened several provisions of the council’s code and was, therefore, unacceptable.

On Thursday, The PUNCH reported that Jajere and Gado’s removal was announced by the council in a statement signed by its Acting Secretary, Habiba Umaru, following an emergency meeting held at its secretariat along Potiskum Road, Damaturu, the state capital.

It said the decision followed a vote of no confidence in the two officers, who were accused of failing to consult member political parties on important decisions and neglecting regular meetings of the council’s executive and general assembly.

The council also alleged that the former leaders used its name to receive quarterly palliatives from the North-East Development Commission and other government and non-governmental organisations for their personal benefit without the knowledge or involvement of member parties

‎However, Jajere and Gado said the meeting failed to meet the requirement of having at least 50 per cent of the membership of either the State Executive Council or the State Assembly, as stipulated in Sections 8(ii) and 8(iv) of the code.
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‎”The meeting did not satisfy the required quorum prescribed by the IPAC Code of Conduct. Any decision reached without meeting this fundamental requirement cannot be considered valid,” they said.
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‎The duo also faulted the participation of some individuals at the meeting, alleging that they were not validly nominated in writing by their respective political party state chairmen, contrary to Sections 4.2(a) and 15.
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‎The duo further argued that the meeting was improperly convened, claiming that no written request signed by two-thirds of the members was submitted, and that the chairman was not given the mandatory seven-day notice required under Section 8(vii).
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‎”The code is clear on the procedures for convening meetings and taking decisions. You cannot disregard these provisions and expect the outcome to be recognised as legitimate,” the officials stated.
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‎On the disciplinary process, Jajere and Gado maintained that no complaint was submitted to the Disciplinary Committee or the Political Parties Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee before the purported impeachment, adding that no investigation was conducted to establish any wrongdoing against them before the decision was announced.
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‎”There was no formal complaint against us, no investigation and no opportunity for us to respond to any allegation. The prescribed disciplinary procedures were not followed,” they said.
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‎The officials insisted that they remained the legitimate leadership of IPAC in Yobe State, warning individuals against parading themselves as officials based on the purported impeachment.
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‎”Nobody can assume the leadership of IPAC in Yobe State through an illegal process. We remain the recognised chairman and secretary of the council until the appropriate procedures are followed,” they declared.
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‎They also threatened disciplinary measures, including suspension, against members who participated in the exercise, accusing them of violating the council’s Code of Conduct.
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‎The duo urged the Yobe State Government, the State Independent Electoral Commission, the Independent National Electoral Commission and other political stakeholders to recognise only them as the legitimate leaders of the state’s council.
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‎They disclosed that the national secretariat of IPAC had been notified of the development in accordance with Section 4.3 of the code.