The governor of the South-Western Nigerian state of Ekiti and his deputy have been served a notice of impeachment by state lawmakers over graft and abuse of office, officials said Saturday.
Twenty-four members of the 26-strong state House of Assembly on Friday signed the impeachment notice of Governor Ayo Fayose and his deputy Abiodun Olujimi and requested that they defend themselves or be sacked, they said.
For over a year, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had investigated and indicted the duo and their aides of corrupt enrichment through a multi-million-dollar poultry project the government was executing for the state.
Last month two aides were arraigned in a Lagos court for money laundering and stealing funds meant for the project for the governor. They were also accused of using government funds to buy a car for Fayose's mother.
If Fayose is impeached, he will be the third governor to be sacked over corruption since Nigeria returned to civil rule in May 1999 ending almost 16 years of military dictatorships.
In December 2005, Governor Dipreye Alamieyseigha of oil-rich Bayelsa State was removed by the state lawmakers while Governor Rasheed Ladoja of the southwestern state of Oyo suffered a similar fate early this year.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has made the fight against graft a major policy of his administration and in 2004 set up the EFCC.
On Wednesday, EFCC chairman Nuhu Ribadu told a senate hearing that more than 30 state governors were under investigation for graft, adding that those found guilty would not be allowed to seek elective positions in next year's general elections.