• Insist due process wasn’t followed
Criticisms have continued to trail the impeachment of the Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, by 18 out of 24 lawmakers in the Edo State House of Assembly.
In two separate statements in Benin, the Chairman, Coalition of Registered Political Parties (CRPP), Edo State, Dr. Samson Isibor, slammed Governor Godwin Obaseki for ensuring that Shaibu was removed at all costs, while the governorship candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Dr. Udoh Oberaifo, insisted that regardless of the charges levelled against the ex-deputy governor, due process was not followed.
Oberaifo, who noted that Shaibu was not given a fair hearing, described the impeachment as a blatant disregard for the principles of justice.
The governorship candidate pointed out that the impeachment proceeded despite a pending case filed by the deputy governor at the Federal High Court.
Oberaifo said: “This legal action should have warranted a status quo, yet the impeachment was carried out regardless, casting doubts on the motives behind the hurried proceedings.”
The governorship candidate further alleged that the new deputy governor is a card-carrying member of the Labour Party (LP), who had yet to resign membership of the party as at the time he was sworn in.
He added: “This action is in clear violation of the Electoral Act 2022, and it underscores the connivance between the LP and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to consolidate power.”
Oberaifo condemned the display of political maneuvering, warning against the entrenched godfatherism that has permeated Edo politics.
He urged Edo people to reject the PDP and LP at the polls in September 2024 and embrace the AAC as a viable alternative.
On his part, the CRPP Chairman, Isibor, insisted that Shaibu has not committed any impeachable offence.
Isibor accused the governor and members of the Edo State House of State Assembly of harassing and chasing away a court bailiff.
Isibor said: “Our consolation is that the Edo governorship election is coming up in a few months, at which Edo people will laugh last, to say it is good riddance to bad government.
The CRPP is strongly behind him. We assure him of our unchangeable support all the way.
Meanwhile, a former governorship aspirant on the platform of the PDP, Anselm Ojezua, has condemned the Shaibu’s impeachment.
Ojezua, who was one of the 10 aggrieved PDP governorship aspirants during the party’s primary, noted that the offences alleged to have been committed by the impeached deputy governor don’t make sense to him.
He added that with the impeachment, members of the House have only succeeded in exposing themselves as unserious lawmakers when lots of issues begging for attention are not discussed by the members.
