The Edo State House of Assembly has passed a resolution requesting the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Daniel Okungbowa, to establish a seven-member panel to investigate allegations of gross misconduct levelled against Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu.
During the plenary session on Tuesday, Speaker Blessing Agbebaku informed the House that the seven-day ultimatum granted to the Deputy Governor to respond to the impeachment notice had expired.
The impeachment notice was served on March 6, but due to alleged evasion, the House ordered a substituted service, published in the Nigerian Observer and Vanguard newspapers on March 12.
Majority Leader Charity Aiguobarueghan moved a motion, seconded by Nicholas Asonsere, requesting the Chief Judge to establish a seven-member committee to investigate the petition against the Deputy Governor.
Aiguobarueghan stated that the motion was in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The motion read: “That the notice served on the deputy governor alleging gross misconduct be sent for investigations. And that the speaker directs the chief judge of the state to set up a seven-man committee to look at the allegations and report its findings to this house as soon as possible.”
In a vote, 19 out of the 24 members of the House reportedly supported the motion.
Following the vote, Speaker Agbebaku requested the Chief Judge to establish a seven-member committee to investigate the petition against the Deputy Governor.
The House’s decision to investigate the Deputy Governor’s alleged misconduct is a significant development in Edo State’s political landscape, and the findings of the committee will likely shape the state’s future.
Shaibu’s Fall Out With Gov Obaseki
The deputy governor has been having a running battle with Governor Godwin Obaseki over his plan to succeed his principal.
In November, during an interview on Channels TV’s “Politics Today” programme, Shaibu revealed the root cause of his fallout with Governor Godwin Obaseki.
Shaibu had declared his intention to contest the September 2024 governorship election in the state, despite facing strong opposition from Obaseki, who appeared to favour another candidate as his successor.
According to Shaibu, the feud with Obaseki began when he visited and congratulated Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, on winning a Senate seat.
Oshiomhole, who supported Obaseki as his successor in 2016, later became a political adversary after allegedly resisting Obaseki’s bid to secure the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for a second term.
The situation prompted Obaseki to defect to the then-opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where he secured the party’s ticket and subsequently won the September 2020 governorship election.
Shaibu had said, “One of the crises that I had (with Obaseki) was when I went to the Senate to congratulate Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and I was seen in a viral video.
“That was where my headache started because the governor’s style is that a friend of the governor, you must be (a) friend to him, and an enemy to the governor, you must be enemy to him.”