Court sacks Acting governor Fintiri, halts Saturday bye election in Adamawa

.Orders Nyako’s deputy, Ngilari to be sworn in

The governorship tussle in Adamawa state has taken a dramatic twist as a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja today directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, not to conduct the governorship bye election slated for October 11 in the state.
The court also ordered that the Deputy Governor to the impeached Governor Murtala Nyako be sworn in immediately to complete his tenure.
Invariably, the court sacked Fintiri as acting governor.
The court, in its ruling said the Adamawa State Deputy Governor, Mr Bala Ngilari,did not resign his position before the former governor Murtala Nyako was impeached.
The court has declared that the swearing in of acting governor,Umaru Fintiri, as illegal and unconstitutional and ordered the immediate vacation of the Government House by the Acting Governor.
It will be recalled that Acting Governor Fintiri was sworn in as governor after a panel constituted to probe the ousted governor Murtala Nyako impeached him on allegations of financial recklessness along with his deputy, Bala Ngilari
The seven man panel, chaired by Mr Bala Kaigama, who submitted the report to the speaker, observed that the panel encountered initial problem of having a venue for sitting but eventually overcame the challenge and produced four volumes of the report on allegations levelled against the governor and the deputy.
Mr Ngilari was earlier reported to have resigned from office to avoid being impeached by the lawmakers alongside Mr Nyako.
Following this development, Ngilari had instituted a court action praying the court to declare him governor on the grounds that his resignation letter which he forwarded to the speaker of the state Assembly on the eve of the impeachment of Governor Nyako was null and void.