Plateau Deputy Speaker impeached

By Marie-Therese Nanlong.
Jos – The Plateau State House of Assembly has
impeached its Deputy Speaker, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi by
voice votes.
Gagdi who represents Kantana Constituency of Kanam
local government area was elected on the platform of
the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP but he recently
decamped to the All Progressives Party, APC to allegedly
avoid impeachment by the APC-controlled Assembly
members, an allegation he denied saying he decamped
because members of his constituency wanted him to do
so.
The House Members accused Gagdi of being autocratic
and non-inclusive in his style of leadership saying they
have lost confidence in him and shortly after his
impeachment, Hon. Sale Yipmong representing Dengi
constituency of Kanam local government area was
announced as his successor.
Recently, Gagdi has been fighting his political battles
from all fronts as some members of his constituency
had accused him of “talking too much about things he
has little knowledge about” as the former Deputy
Speaker was said to have claimed that Boko Haram
members were sighted in his constituency after a
Divisional Police State in the area was attacked and
seven rifles carted away.
18 out of the 24 Members of the House were said to
have signed a drafted document where the Members
passed a vote of no confidence on Gagdi as read by the
Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Henry Yunkwap and
the impeached Deputy Speaker said he saw it coming,
noting, “If say I did not see it coming, it means I am not
a politician. From the day I was elected, I knew that I
would be hunted anytime any moment, after all when I
entered the House of Assembly, I didn’t envisage that I
am going to be the Deputy Speaker, in that circumstance
I have it at the back of my mind that I can be removed
at any time.”
Hon. Yunkwap later told journalists, “It is constitutional if
members said, they are passing vote of no confidence
and they have approached me with a document that they
have passed vote of no confidence, and it encompasses
a lot of issues. There are so many things, we just don’t
want to open up.”
Gagdi however stated that he holds no grudge against
any one, the action being the decision of the House and
“the good about it is that there was no good reason
attached to the removal and I believe in destiny.”