The Edo State House of Assembly has voted to impeach Philip Shaibu, the Deputy Governor of the state, as political tensions between him and Gov Godwin Obaseki come to a head.
The lawmakers voted on Monday morning, citing Shaibu’s failure to respond to invitations extended by the seven-man panel set up by the House that was investigating certain allegations against him.
The panel said it gave Shaibu last chance on Friday to appear before it. “This is the position of the panel. The panel adjourned sitting to today (Friday) for the last time for the respondent to present its defence, and the respondent is still not before the panel,” said Justice S.A. Omonua (rtd) who is heading the panel of investigation.
After not appearing, the panel then wrote its report to the House and recommended his removal, saying Shaibu declined the opportunity for defence.
But the deputy governor Shaibu was citing an order of the Federal High Court he obtained which invited the panel to court on the deputy governor’s application for interlocutory injunction against the proceedings of the panel.
When his counsel, Professor Oladoyin Awoyale, SAN, failed to convince the panel to comply with the court order, even him therefore withdrew from the proceedings.
New Deputy Gov. Nominated
Meanwhile, Gov Obaseki has swiftly appointed 37-year-old Omobayo Godwin as Shaibu’s replacement as Deputy Governor.
Omobayo’s inauguration is scheduled to take place immediately on Monday at the Government House in Benin City.
He was born on July 19, 1986 and a native of Akoko Edo in Edo state. He holds a B.Eng Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering as well as an MSc in Public Administration from the University of Benin (UNIBEN).
He’s a registered member of both the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and previously served as a Senior Maintenance Engineer at Dresser Wayne West Africa Limited.
Origin of Dispute
Shaibu and his principal fell out when he (Shaibu) insisted on his right to contest and replace his outgoing boss, who is due to leave office as governor in November this year. Obaseki had other ideas on who to support. The frayed relationship between both leaders heightened tensions in Edo for the last year.
Nonetheless, Shaibu is still contesting to be the authentic People’s Democratic Party, PDP. candidate for the Edo gubernatorial election coming up on 21 September.
The disputed PDP primary is already in court.
Shaibu Reacts To The Impeachment
The deputy governor, Shaibu has quickly reacted to the impeachment. In a video message to the people of the state and his supporters, Shaibu described his impeachment as “illegal“, and the allegations against him “trumped up“.
He accused the governor of “flagrant abuse of power” and the House impeachment as a “threat to democracy“.
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