The Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly, Peter Abel Diah, on Sunday threw in the towel, saying “my resignation is on personal reasons.” He spoke to journalists on the telephone yesterday night.
The Majority Leader of the Assembly, Joseph Albasu Alkinjo, is likely to be sworn as Speaker today, it was learnt.
It has been a long battle between the Speaker and Governor Darius Ishaku. After an unsuccessful attempt at the weekend, the Speaker could not stand the reinvigorated impeachment moves against him yesterday.
The onslaught against the Speaker is alleged to be sponsored by Governor Darius Ishaku. The governor, however, denied the allegation.
It was gathered that the plan to impeach the Speaker was spearheaded by a trio of the Taraba State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Victor Bala, Joel Ikenya, a former senator from southern Taraba and Abubakar Bawa, a Political Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters.
Member representing Yorro constituency, Mohammed Danlandi Gwampo, is said to have anchored the collation of signatures of his colleagues for the purpose of impeaching the Speaker.
The relationship between the governor and the Speaker has been frosty of late, allegedly over the distribution of the state’s resources.
Full-blown political crisis erupted between the Taraba’s executive arm and the legislature when the Assembly, at the prompting of the Speaker, had bared their fangs in futility to impeach the governor.