The All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Edo state government has continued its move to remove local government chairmen.
On Monday, councillors impeached the chairman of Esan North-East, Dr Kelly Ehidiamen Inedegbor, and his Vice Chairman, Thomas Otiobhili. Similarly, Tajudeen Alade and his vice from Akoko-Edo Local Government Area were impeached.
The councillors in Uromi, headquarters of Esan North-East, were said to have unanimously agreed upon the impeachment of Inedegbor and Otiobhili.
The impeachment was a sequel to an impeachment notice by two councillors, Shedrack Onoghemenosen of Ward 11 and Samuel Udawele of Ward 2.
Allegations of Misconduct
The legislative arm of the council accused Inedegbor and Otiobhili of misusing their positions for personal gain, eroding public trust, and undermining the integrity of local government institutions. The councillors claimed that their actions constituted “gross misconduct, abuse of office, and failure to uphold their oath of office.“
The impeached chairmen have reacted to the development, describing it as illegal. Alade says, “a minority of councillors carried out the purported act, which is illegal. Just a few days ago, these same people invaded the secretariat and carted away my personal belongings. Today I was told theyhadt to repeat the same thing. We are in a democracy and there are laid down rules for impeachment but they did not follow any of these.” Inedegbor’s Press Secretary, Okonofua Osemobor, also claims that the impeachment was done without due process, stating, “By law, the constitution stipulates a 14-day notice. In this case, due to their ignorance of the law, they acted contrary.“
Details of the Impeachment
Osemobor further explained that “the council chairman was not given any form of fair hearing nor did he appear before any panel of inquiry set up by the councillors to clear any allegations levelled against him. Upon our findings, it was revealed that the illegal impeachment took place at 12:30 a.m., when everyone was asleep and the Secretariat closed for the day’s activities. How they gained access into the chambers is part of our call on our security agencies to investigate. Upon interaction with the councillors who carried out this travesty of the law, it was revealed that three signatures were forged while four admitted they were coerced by a political leader in the local government whose identity will not be revealed at the moment.“
Following the impeachment, new leadership has been established.
In Akoko-Edo, Alabi Oshionogue, the former Leader of the legislative arm, has taken over as the Acting Chairman. He has set up a committee to recover all the council’s missing assets and dissolved all appointments made by Alade. Tope Jacob has also been appointed as the new Leader of the House.
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