Edo State House of Assembly Monday voted to impeach deputy governor, Hon Philip Shaibu, and governor Godwin Obaseki wasted no time in announcing his replacement.
The impeachment is the fall-out of long drawn cat and mouse political feud between Obaseki and Shaibu over his ambition to run for the governorship election billed for November.
Shaibu’s impeachment followed the adoption of the report of a seven-man committee set up by the chief judge of Edo State Justice Daniel Okungbowa to investigate allegations of misconduct against the deputy governor.
During plenary at the assembly complex in Benin City, the Edo State capital, the Majority Leader of the House Charity Aiguobarueghian said the report of the seven-man judicial panel of inquiry presented to the House had two findings and one recommendation.
Aiguobarueghian said that while the report of the panel was unable to establish the case of perjury levelled against the deputy governor, the panel found him guilty of disclosure of government secrets.
According to the report, the seven-man judicial panel of inquiry recommended that the deputy governor be impeached on grounds of disclosure of government secrets.
The Clerk of the House Yahaya Omogbai conducted a head count of the lawmakers who voted for and against the impeachment of Shaibu.
Eighteen out of 19 members present at plenary voted for the impeachment of the deputy governor while one abstained from the head count and voting process.
The speaker Blessing Agbebaku has since directed Omogbai to forward copies of the impeachment to Governor Obaseki for his assent.
Shortly after the ouster of Shaibu, governor put forward 37-year-old Omobayo Godwins as his deputy.
“I hereby denounce the illegal impeachment by Edo State House of Assembly over trump up charges,” Shaibu said in a video online.
“It’s not just an attack on me but an attack on very the democracy principle we hold dear. It’s a dangerous descent into dictatorship.
“The impeachment was hatch because of my ambition to contest for governorship, which is a legitimate right.” With Channels TV report
