Why Obaseki, Deputy, May Be Impeached |The Source

By Adesina Soyooye

There are plans to impeach the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki. And to make sure his Deputy, Philip Shaibu, does not take over, he is to be impeached alongside the Governor.

When such  impeachments take place, power passes on to the Speaker of the House of Assembly.

But to make sure that does not, also, happen, the man who has been the Speaker of the Assembly, since its inauguration on June, the 17th, 2019, Frank Okiye, has been surreptitiously impeached on Thursday, August 6, by a faction of  the members loyal to the sacked National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, who was, also, a two-time of the State.

The Assembly has been divided into two factions since their eletion. It stemmed from the serious disagreement between Obaseki and his estranged political godfather, Oshiomhole.

The result is that after the proclamation of the Assembly, only 10 of the 24 members, loyal to the Governor, agreed to be inaugurated. The other 14, refused, and after over 100 days, their seats were declared vacant. The case is in court.

Edo has been in crisis, especially, since the APC, the party on which the Governor came into office, denied him the ticket for a second term in office. It, instead, manoeuvred and gave the ticket to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who decamped from the PDP to the APC, and was PDP’s Governorship candidate in 2016.

An inkling into the plan to impeach Obaseki became ckear on Wednesday when Speaker Okiye revealed there was a plan to invade the premises of the Assembly, and forcefully take away the Mace. If that failed, he said, a new Mace would be smuggled into the Assembly, after which the 14 members, whose seats had since been declared empty, would be sworn-in.

True to his words, Thursday morning, the Assembly premises was taken over by heavily armed security personnel. And a lot of drama ensued.

On receiving the news, Obaseki, Shaibu, Okiye and scores of others rushed to the Assembly.

Within a twinkle of an eye, tippers lorries delivered heaps of sand at the gate, and some artisans came in to start renovation work on the buildings therein.

Then, hundreds of Edo people, mainly youths, stormed the Assembly, and said they would resist any plans by the security personnel, or anybody, to distract Obaseki’s government.

As that was going-on, seeing that they could not access the House of Assembly, the 14 members whose seats had since been declared vacant, went to a private residence, and were sworn-in by “an Assistant Clerk of the House.” They were joined by three members who had been sworn-in before, bringing the number present to 17. Thereafter,

they proceeded to impeach Okiye and his Deputy, Roland Asoro, who was elected his Deputy, only on Wednesday, after the impeachment of the former deputy, Yekini Idiaye,  for declaring support over his declaration of support for Ize -Iyamu.

The new Speaker is Victor Editor, while his Deputy is Emmanuel Agbaje.

This has set in process the plan to impeach the Governor and his Deputy, less than two months to the Governorship election. The ultimate is to remove the State apparatus from him, and  return Edo to the APC, since the newly “elected  Speaker “would act as the Governor.

But the PDP, both at the state and national levels, is crying foul. And, so are a number of individuals.

The PDP is asking the President to call Oshiomhole and company to order, warning that there  would be serious consequences that could truncate Nigeria’s fragile democracy.

The Convener of a civil rights group, Concerned Nigerians, Deji Adeyanju says it is a shame that Nigeria has descended to this sorry level, and asks the President to pull it back by arresting the dangerous situation in Edo. He said Oshiomhole should be held responsible if any tragedy befalls Edo State.

Governor Obaseki swears he would protect the state and its people, and defend democracy,  with all constitutional powers available to him.

And, in a statement Thursday evening, former Vice President, and the PDP Presidential candidate in the 2019 Presidential election, Atiku Abubakar,

warns of the consequences of trying to impeach  Obaseki, insisting that the status quo be preserved, or  there will be ‘grave danger’.

Atiku: “Nigeria has been on edge due to the brinkmanship of those charged with democratic leadership. We must, as a nation, not escalate the already tense atmosphere in our polity.

“What is happening in Edo State is a threat to constitutional order nationwide, and I strongly urge belligerent forces to rein in their proxies and abide by the rule of law. As I have previously said, without the rule of law, there will be no rule at all.

“The current goings-on portend grave danger, not only to law and order in that state but to the coming Edo elections.

“The people of Edo state should be allowed to choose who they wish to govern them, and that choice is to be made on September 19, 2020. Pending then, everything legally possible must be done to preserve the status quo.”

The Governorship election is billed for the 19th of August. If what is happening now is anything to go by, it promises to be bloody.