The Edo state House of Assembly on Wednesday, March 6, commenced impeachment proceedings against Philip Shaibu, the Deputy Governor of the state.
The Majority leader of the House, Charity Aiguobarueghian, announced the impeachment notice during plenary, stating that the petition dated March 5, was signed by 21 out of the 24 members against the deputy governor.
Aiguobarueghian stated, “The petition against the deputy governor came in on March 5 and was signed by 21 out of the 24 members. The number of members who signed the petition was more than the two-third requirement stipulated in the constitution.”
He also said that the petition was based on two grounds perjury and revealing of government secrets.
The speaker of the House, Blessing Agbebaku who acknowledged receipt of the petition, directed the Clerk of the House, Yahaya Omogbai, to serve Shaibu the impeachment notice.
Agbebaku also gave the deputy governor seven days to respond to the notice of impeachment.
The impeachment notice is the latest in the political tussle between the state Governor, Godwin Obaseki and his Deputy, who have been at loggerheads since 2023, when Shaibu announced his intention to run for the office of the governor of the state.
Shaibu in February vowed to carry on with his preparations even if doing so would cause his impeachment by the state’s House of Assembly.
Recall that on Thursday, February 22, the returning officer in the PDP governorship primary and Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, announced Asue Ighodalo as the winner of the delegate election, having polled a total of 577 votes.
Meanwhile, in the parallel primaries that took place at the Benin residence of the Deputy Governor, the returning officer, Bartholomew Moses, declared Shaibu the winner, saying he won with over 300 votes.
As a result of this, Shaibu described himself as the authentic candidate, noting that the primary that produced Ighodalo was nothing short of a social party attended by people who wore ‘aso ebi’ from all over the place.
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