Edo House of Assembly, yesterday, impeached the Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, following the adoption of the recommendation of the seven-man judicial panel led by retired Justice Stephen Omonua.
At plenary in Benin, the Majority leader of the House, Charity Aiguobarueghian, said that the report of the judicial panel of inquiry presented to the House had two findings and one recommendation.
Aiguobarueghian further disclosed that the report of the panel was unable to establish the case of perjury levelled against the deputy governor, while the panel found him guilty of disclosure of government secrets.
He added that the report of the judicial panel 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, where 18 out of 19 members present at plenary voted for Shaibu’s impeachment, while one abstained from the headcount and voting process.
Omogbai stated that two-thirds (16 members of the House) was needed to carry out the impeachment.
The state Assembly, thereafter, upheld and approved the recommendation of the panel, and consequently, impeached the deputy governor.
The Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku, thereafter, directed the Clerk of the House to forward copies of the impeachment to Governor Godwin Obaseki for his assent.
Reacting to news of his impeachment via a live online video, Shaibu described the action by the lawmakers as a threat to democracy and a dangerous descent into dictatorship.
He said: “My good people of Edo State, I thank you all for standing by me in these troubling circumstances, as the deputy governor of Edo State.
“It is with a heavy heart, yet a resolute spirit, that I come before you to address the recent events that are unfolding in our dear state. I denounce in the strongest term the illegal impeachment by the Edo State House of Assembly over baseless charges.
“Let it be clear that this impeachment was hatched because of my ambition to contest the Edo State 2024 governorship election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), an ambition that is a legal right to all citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is a sad reality that in our political landscape, ambition is met with resistance.”
Meanwhile, hours after Shaibu was impeached, 37-year-old Omobayo Marvelous Godwins, who hails from Akoko-Edo Local Council of the state, was inaugurated as the new Deputy Governor.
Godwins was sworn in around 1:40 p.m., yesterday, by the Edo State Chief Judge, Justice Daniel Okungbowa.
