October 19, 2012 by Success Nwogu, Ilorin
Kogi
State Governor, Capt. Idris Wada, has said that over 100,000 persons
have been displaced in the state by the recent floods in the state.
He also said the flood destroyed properties worth billions of naira in the state.
Wada who was represented by his deputy,
Mr. Yomi Awoniyi, stated this during his visits to Igah, Ogurugu, Ojoh
and Atuoacha communities of Enugu and Anambra states on Thursday.
He urged Kogi State indigenes living in
some communities in the two neighbouring states to return home, adding
that adequate measures to help them rebuild their homes had been put in
place.
He said the government was building low
cost houses, providing farm inputs and improved seedlings to farmers as
well as nets to fishermen to aid the flood victims.
Meanwhile, the governor has denied
involvement in the impeachment of the former Speaker of the state House
of Assembly, Mr. Abdullahi Bello, and other principal officers.
Wada, in a statement on Thursday by his
Special Adviser, Media and Strategy, Mr. Jacob Edi, said he had
remained committed to the principles of Separation of Powers as
embedded in every modern democracy since he assumed office.
He stated that the issues as contained in the impeachment notice, were purely internal problems of the legislature.
He said any attempt to drag his name as
the mastermind of the impeachment was not only unfortunate, and puerile,
but should be treated as a ‘desperate attempt by somebody on a free
fall to divert the attention of the public.’
Wada said the reasons for the impeachment were contained in an impeachment notice, adding that they were well spelt out.
“For any one in doubt, Bello and his
cohorts were accused of poor leadership and high handedness. To be
precise, the former Speaker was accused of being insensitive to the
feelings of the citizenry as shown in his refusal to show reasonable
concern first when 19 worshipers, and two soldiers on national
assignment were gunned down by unknown persons in the Central Senatorial
District and later during the flood that ravaged nine local councils in
the three Senatorial districts of the state.
“He was accused of adjourning the
Assembly indefinitely and of absenteeism during the visits of President
Goodluck Jonathan and Senate President David Mark to the flood victims,”
Wada said.
He stated that members of the Assembly
paid a courtesy call on him to intimate him of the leadership change
and to introduce the new leadership, in the spirit of Separation of
Powers.
“In fact, there is a standing rule for
the top echelon of the judiciary and legislators to have express passage
to see the Governor, whenever they so desire. Bello himself has been a
beneficiary of that rule.”
SOURCE: The Punch - Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper 19 October 2012.
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