The PDP, which accused Mattawalle of conspiring and manipulating the state House of Assembly to begin what it called an unconstitutional and undemocratic impeachment process against Gusau, stated that the case was still pending in court.

The party urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC to call the governor immediately for violating the principle of Separation of Powers, adding that Mattawalle must be held accountable for any breakdown in law and order in the state.

The State House of Assembly was reported on Friday to have begun fresh moves to impeach the deputy governor.

The deputy speaker of the House, Musa Bawa, at Friday’s plenary submitted a document requesting the impeachment of the deputy governor.

Gusau‘s ordeal began after he refused to join Mattawalle to dump PDP for the APC last year.

But reacting to recent moves to remove the deputy governor, the national publicity secretary of the PDP, Hon. Debo Ologunagba in a statement said the Assembly was embarking on an illegal process of impeachment because there was a subsisting order of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

According to the PDP,  the Governor violated the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) in “recklessly moving to the APC when there is no division in the PDP”.

He added that “the illegal process of impeachment despite a subsisting order of the Federal High Court, Abuja in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/ 650/2021 portends grave implication for peace and security not only in Zamfara State but the entire North West region as well as the continued sustenance of democracy in our country.

“Governor Matawalle should note that the people of Zamfara State are solidly behind the Deputy Governor, who enjoys large political following in the State as the custodian of the PDP mandate after Matawalle’s infamous defection to the APC. As such, any action against the Deputy Governor amounts to a direct assault on the will of the people which they will firmly resist.”

The party cautioned against any attempt to strip Mahdi Aliyu Gasau of the mandate of the people on the grounds of unfounded allegations.

The PDP stated that such a plot is a recipe for a serious crisis that can result in the complete breakdown of law and order in the state and the North West.

“Governor Matawalle must know that the people of Zamfara State cannot allow his frustration and ego to be exchanged for their mandate which is now embodied in the Deputy Governor,” Ologunagba said.

They urged the Inspector General of Police to note “how Governor Matawalle, out of frustration has constituted himself into a security threat in Zamfara State and the entire North West region, where he is now threatening the lives of members of the PDP and other well-meaning citizens of Zamfara State.”