The Speaker of Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkareem Lawan, has dismissed rumours of plans to impeach Governor Kashim Shettima, saying it is an evidence of the conspiracy of political interest groups working to further destabilize the state.

In a telephone conversation, Lawan, who spoke from Saudi Arabia said the impeachment which is alleged to be championed by the former governor of the state, Ali Modu Sheriff, who recently announced his willingness to join the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will not stand as the governor’s removal would further draw the state backward.

Besides, he added, the governor has done nothing wrong to warrant his impeachment.

“The leadership and more than two-thirds of members of the Assembly are fully behind Governor Kashim Shettima, and our major preoccupation at the moment is how to reclaim peace across the state and put an end to killings rather than any political undercut,” he said.

The speaker also said that the claim by the House Majority leader, Idrissa Jidda, that most legislative members were defecting to the Peoples Democrtic Party, PDP, along with Sheriff was entirely his own personal opinion and does not in any way reflect the position of any of the remaining 27 members in the assembly and the leadership.

“As we speak right now I am with 19 members of the Assembly here in Makkah and all of us are not happy with the majority leader’s false claim. Other members have been calling me from Nigeria expressing their unhappiness. We all have the same position which is to fully stand by the Governor, Kashim Shettima.”

The leadership and members of the Borno State House of Assembly ‎are 100 percent behind Governor Kashim Shettima, we are not moving an inch to anywhere. We are fully behind him. I know the opinion of more than two-thirds of the members, I don’t know the opinion of the majority leader and he is free to go to any party of his choice, we are in a democracy but he shouldn’t speak for others, he should speak for himself,” Lawan stated.

He said the issue uppermost in the hearts of majority of the legislative members is how peace can be return to Borno State and that this has topped their requests to God at the holy land where they are currently participating in the lesser hajj.

“We are very, very worried about the deaths and destructions of communities; this is our major headache and not the issue of defection and 2015 and I am speaking the minds of most members; we work as a family; we are a team and I don’t see how we can lose support for Governor Kashim Shettima that has been doing everything humanly possible to address the problems since he came in,” he said.