Jang’s son moves to stop Plateau Assembly’s probe
Yakubu Jang, a son of Plateau State Governor, Mr. Jonah Jang, has dragged the Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly and the other 23 members before the State High Court, praying it to stop the lawmakers from investigating him, Punch has reported.
The Assembly had initiated an investigation into a petition sent to it by a group, alleging acts of financial impropriety against the governor and members of his family .
The petitioners had alleged that members of the family had fleeced the state of billions of Naira while the legislature looked the other way.
The first family wants the court to grant an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the lawmakers from giving effect to the petition, which was received by the House on May 15, and written by a group, which goes by the name Plateau Patriotic Front.
The first family suit was filed by Mr. Sunny-Gabriel Odey.
The aspect of the allegation before the House, which concerns the plaintiff, is the part titled ‘Yakubu Jang illegally operating an account in Zenith Bank’.
The paragraph reads, “Yakubu Jang is the one operating an account in Zenith Bank for the salaries of Civil Servants in the state. He does that with his crony, Pamson Dagyat who goes about amusing himself as Chief Statistician of Plateau State.
This account takes about 70% of Federal allocations to the state monthly.
He decides when salaries are to be paid. He makes his money when he chooses to punish government workers by simply withholding salaries to allow interests to accrue to him. This is illegal.”
In the originating summons, the younger Jang, who is also the Governor’s Special Adviser on Special Duties, wants the court to make a declaration by virtue of Section 128 (1)s of the 1999 Constiution of Nigeria (as amended), that the defendants could not validly inquire into deliberate or debate on matters relating to his conduct without a resolution of the House published in its journal or in the official gazette of the state government.
The House probe panel is headed by Mr. Gondina Sambo.