The Senate on Wednesday invoked the provisions of Section 157 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended to sack Yakubu Danladi Umar as the chairman Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for what it described as gross acts of misconduct and misdemeanor.
The section stipulates that 2/3 of membership of the Senate can remove the head of any statutory body alleged to have indulged in gross misconduct and misdemeanor in office. Senate resolution on sacking of CCT Chairman, was sequel to voting made to that effect by the entire 84 out of the existing 107 serving Senators who attended the plenary.
The action taken by the Senate as stipulated by relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution, will now be forwarded to President Bola Tinubu for official removal of Umar and resumption of Mr. Abdullahi Usman Bello as the new substantive chairman of CCT. President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio pronounced the removal after the lawmakers went into a closed door session at 1.17pm on the matter that was listed as the first motion on the Order Paper in the name of the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC Ekiti Central).
Senate Whip, Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno (APC Borno North), after the closed door session at 2.36pm, moved that the action be carried out in line with Section 157 (1) of the Constitution.
Leader of the Senate, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele thereafter moved a motion titled, “Invocation of the provision of Section 157 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended for the removal of the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal. ”Food and travel guides The Senate Leader said that as a statutory institution of such magnitude, the Tribunal is expected to be an epitome of moral rectitude and should be seen to uphold the virtues of integrity, probity and accountability.
He, however, maintained that the conduct of Umar, who is the chairman of the CCT, has “fallen short of the requisite standard of a public officer to conduct the affairs of such a Tribunal.”
Senator Bamidele added that the Senate has been inundated with series of petitions and allegations of corruption/misconduct against the chairman, a situation that necessitated the 9th Senate, through the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions to invite him to series of its investigative hearings in order to unravel the circumstances surrounding those allegations. Danladi Umar, according to him, however appeared before the committee only once and thereafter avoided subsequent invitations.
He also expressed the concern of Senate about Umar’s alleged absenteeism from office for more than one month, without permission and recuse to his position, coupled with preponderance of corruption allegation, misappropriation, and physical street brawl with a security man in the FCT vis-à-vis his current investigation by the EFCC, ICPC and the DSS. All these, he added, were tantamount to acts of negligence and gross misconduct, unbecoming of a chairman of such a reputable Tribunal.
