Kebbi State Palace Coup: The Rise & Fall of Rt. Hon. Ismail Kamba (Former Chairman of Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures in Nigeria)

By Charles Segun Adegbite

This Tuesday, August 23, a strategically organised palace coup was carried out in the hallowed chamber of Kebbi State House of Assembly, during which the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Ismail Abdulimumini Kamba was impeached, along with his deputy, Muhammad Buhari-Aleiru.

His removal was carried out summarily through an impeachment notice said to have been signed by 21 out of the 24 members of the House, ordering him to vacate the speaker's seat  with immediate effects. 

He was Immediately replaced with the Deputy Chief Whip of the House, Honourable Muhammad Abubakar Lolo (APC-Bagudo West), while his deputy was also substituted with Honourable Usman Ankwai Zuru (APC- Zuru)

The Clerk to the Assembly, Usman Ahmad Bunza, who disclosed the development in a brief statement made available to journalists said, “The two House leaders were found to have committed impeachable offences, hence the reason to relieve them of their posts with immediate effect.”

The offences committed for their impeachment were, however, not stated in the statement.

Consequently, it brought an end to the political influence of the impeached speaker, not only in the hallowed chamber of Kebbi State House of Assembly, but in the entire state.

Kamba who, until his impeachment, was the Number 3 citizen in the state, is now an ordinary lawmaker who will be leading a low lifestyle in the Assembly and the state, without the paraphernalia of office, security details and other stuff the Speaker is entitled to.

This lawmaker has been occupying the office of Speaker since 2015 when he was elected by his fellow lawmakers to lead the Assembly.

In 2016 he was chosen as the Chairman of Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures in Nigeria.

The position he occupied until his two years tenure ended in 2018, when the Speaker of Lagos State, Rt Hon. Idowu Obasa succeeded him.