The Edo State House of Assembly has impeached the deputy governor of the state, Philip Shaibu.
Shaibu was impeached during plenary in Benin, the Edo State capital, on Monday, April 8, 2024.
The impeachment of the deputy governor followed the adoption of the report of a seven-man committee set up to investigate allegations of misconduct against him.
Speaking at the plenary, the Majority Leader of the House, Charity Aiguobarueghian, said the report of the seven-man panel presented to the lawmakers found Shaibu culpable of disclosing government secrets.
Aiguobarueghian added that though the panel was unable to establish the case of perjury against the deputy governor, it made two findings and one recommendation upon which the decision to impeach the deputy governor was anchored.
“The seven-man judicial panel of inquiry recommended that the deputy governor be impeached on ground of disclosure of government secrets,” the lawmaker said.
During voting on the motion, 18 out of 19 lawmakers present at plenary voted for the impeachment of Shaibu while one abstained from the headcount and voting process.
The Clerk of the House, Yahaya Omogbai, conducted a head count of the lawmakers who voted for and against the impeachment of Shaibu.
Omogbai said with the figure, the House met 2/3 (16 members of the House were needed to carry out the impeachment).
The lawmakers thereafter upheld and approved the recommendation of the seven-man panel and thereafter impeached the deputy governor.
The Speaker of the House, Blessing Agbebaku, directed Omogbai to forward copies of the impeachment to Governor Godwin Obaseki for assent.
The lawmakers served Shaibu a notice of impeachment on March 6.
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The Star had reported that 22 lawmakers out of the 24 members of the House signed the impeachment notice making the eventual removal of Shaibu as the deputy governor of Edo State inevitable.
The deputy governor has since been at loggerheads with Governor Obaseki over his ambition to succeed the governor in the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State.
Shaibu, after the gubernatorial primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, said the PDP would not win the governorship election in the state if he is not recognised as the candidate of the party.
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The former Chairman of Sterling Bank Plc, Asue Ighodalo, was declared the winner of the PDP primary election held in Benin on February 22, while Shaibu emerged as the candidate in another primaries held in a different venue.
The deputy governor, however, maintained that he remains the PDP standard bearer.
Shaibu stressed that he was elected by the authentic delegates of the party in Edo State, saying the people of the state do not want Ighodalo.
Obaseki had before the primaries said the PDP has the sole right to determine its candidate for the September 21, 2024, governorship election in the state.
The governor, who described his relationship with his deputy as cordial, said: “He wants to run for the office and he is free to do so and you know as a Nigerian, he has the constitutional right to run and nobody can or should stop him.”
Shaibu’s ambition has put him at loggerheads with Governor Obaseki, who is believed not to be disposed to his deputy taking over from him.
He, however, apologised to Obaseki and asked for the latter’s forgiveness if he had offended him unknowingly to enable them to finish well in office.
He also called on the governor to forgive him to develop the state together with him.
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