Gov Okpebholo
The move by the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Edo state government to remove local government chairmen continued on Monday, as some elected councillors impeached the chairman of Esan North-East, Dr. Kelly Ehidiamen Inedegbor, and his Vice Chairman, Thomas Otiobhili.
Also impeached was that of Akoko-Edo Local Government Area, Tajudeen Alade and his vice.
Contacted, the chairmen said their impeachment cannot stand as they did not follow due process.
‘Gross misconduct’
In Uromi, headquarters of Esan North-East, the impeachment was said to have been agreed upon unanimously by the councillors and was based on allegations of “gross misconduct, abuse of office, and failure to uphold their oath of office”.
The impeachment was sequel to an impeachment notice by two councillors, Shedrack Onoghemenosen of Ward 11 and Samuel Udawele of Ward 2, addressed to the Leader of the House, Paul Uhumesi.
The legislative arm of the council accused the duo of misusing their positions for personal gain, eroding public trust, and undermining the integrity of local government institutions.
This action comes after growing dissatisfaction among council members over the leadership of the suspended officials.
The leader of the House, Uhumesi, also announced the suspension of three councillors: Sunday Ebosele (Ward 3), Smart Eboigbe (Ward 5), and Kingsley Osehon (Ward 10) for undisclosed reasons.
Akoko-Edo
Reports from Igarra, headquarters of Akoko-Edo showed that some councillors stormed the legislative chamber, held plenary and announced the impeachment of the chairman and his vice.
Then they moved to take over the office of the chairman with an Acting Chairman, Alabi Oshionogue, who was the Leader of the legislative arm. They then replaced him with Tope Jacob, as the new Leader of the House.
After taking over the office of the chairman, Oshionogue said that a committee had been set up to recover all the missing assets of the council and also dissolved all appointments made by Alade.
A former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Kabiru Adjoto, who witnessed the development said that he was satisfied with the peaceful way the proceedings went.
Alade Reacts
Alade said the purported suspension was illegal and did not follow due process and that the action was being sponsored by those who want to have access to the treasury of the council.
“The purported act was carried out by a minority of councillors and it is illegal. Just a few days ago, these same people invaded the secretariat and carted away my personal belongings.
“Today I was told they went 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
A statement by the Press Secretary to Dr. Inedegbor, Okonofua Osemobor said there was no time Inedegbor was served any impeachment notice.
“By law the constitution stipulates a 14-day notice. In this case, due to their ignorance of the law, they acted contrary.
“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,” Osemobor said.
