Lawyer Writes Taraba Assembly Over Gov. Ishaku's Failure to Form Cabinet

●Says DDI should be impeach for not holding State Executive Council in three months

Jalingo based lawyer and human right activist, Barr. Bilyaminu Lukman Maihanchi has called on the Taraba State House of Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against Governor Dairus Ishaku over his failure to appoint commissioners and form a state executive council in the last three months.

Maihanchi in a letter said since the inception of the Governor's second tenure, ''his government has been operating without a Chief Law Officer & Commissioners as Constitutionally guaranteed, and it’s a duty bound Constitutionally for the Governor to hold regular meetings with his Deputy Governor and all Commissioners of the Government for the performance of his functions. His failure or refusal to appoint an Attorney General, with his Commissioners and to hold regular meetings for 3 months, is an act of gross misconduct in the performance of his office and call for his impeachment.''

Read Full Lettet below

The Speaker, Taraba State
House of Assembly, Jalingo.

House of Assembly Complex Jalingo, Taraba State.

Sir

GROSS MISCONDUCT AGAINST THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF TARABA STATE FOR GRAVE VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE 1999 CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AS AMENDED.

I, Bilyaminu Lukman Maihanchi, a Politician, Human Right Lawyer, an indigene of Jalingo Local Government Area of Taraba state. A family Man from Sintali “A” ward, Jalingo 1 constituency of the Taraba State house of Assembly.

My dear respected honourable Members of Taraba State House of Assembly. It’s a well known fact that section 195(1) of the 1999 constitution provides that, there shall be an Attorney General for each state who shall be the Chief Law Officer of the state and Commissioner for Justice of the Government of that state.

It’s also a known fact that section 192(1) and (2) of the constitution provides for the offices of Commissioners and procedures of appointment of Commissioners to fill those offices. It’s also a fact that the people of Taraba state voted their Governor to work for the betterment of all the people of Taraba State and to strictly comply with all the provisions of the constitution which he was sworn in on the 29th May 2019.

However, from all indications, the state Governor of Taraba has failed to uphold the conditions he was sworn to abide by. His failure was seen as the result of the Governor‘s refusal to appoint Commissioners who shall be saddled with the responsibilities of executing the policies of the government.

Since the inception of the Governor's second tenure, his government has been operating without a Chief Law Officer & Commissioners as Constitutionally guaranteed, and it’s a duty bound Constitutionally for the Governor to hold regular meetings with his Deputy Governor and all Commissioners of the Government for the performance of his functions. His failure or refusal to appoint an Attorney General, with his Commissioners and to hold regular meetings for 3 months, is an act of gross misconduct in the performance of his office and call for his impeachment.

Sir, for a Governor running a Government for almost 3 months without appointing Attorney General and Commissioners, couple with the failure to hold regular meetings for this period, it is indeed an intentional violation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the state Governor and it is no doubt a deliberate violation of any mandatory provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by a person who was sworn to defend the constitution this  is an act of gross misconduct and an impeachable offence.


It’s a well known fact that the House of Assembly has a constitutional duty of checking the excesses of the Executive arm of the Government for ensuring that it carried out its duties as provided by the constitution. The act of the Governor has negatively affected the welfare of the people of Taraba State.

Therefore, It’s only with the intervention of this Honorable House will the Governor’s continuation of violating the provisions of the constitution be checked, and by invoking the provision of section 188 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended against the Governor will stop him and helps towards maintaining the sanctity, purity and integrity of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Based on the above situational realities and  having regard to the Governor’s act of gross violation of the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, (as amended) which amounts to gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office and if the House failed or refused to invoke the provision of section 188 of the constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, (as amended) to commence an impeachment proceedings against the Governor from now to the next 7 days of receiving this letter, I shall be left with no option but, institute the matter before a competent Court of Law to seek for redress in the interest of Tarabans.

Thank you

Bilyaminu Lukman Maihanchi, Esq.

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