The alleged move by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Edo State Government to remove local government area chairmen continued on Monday as some elected councilors impeached the council Chairmen of Esan North East, Dr Kelly Ehidiamen Inedegbor, and his Vice Chairman, Hon. Thomas Otiobhili and that of Akoko-Edo local government area, Hon Tajudeen Alade and his vice.
When contacted, the affected chairmen said their impeachment could not stand as they did not follow due process.
In Uromi, headquarters of Esan East, the impeachment was said to have been agreed upon unanimously by the councilors and was based on allegations of alleged gross misconduct, abuse of office, and failure to uphold their oath of office.
The impeachment was a sequel to an impeachment notice by two councilors Hon Shedrack Onoghemenosen of Ward 11 and Hon Samuel Udawele Ward 2 addressed to the Leader of the House, Hon 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 and the community over the leadership of the suspended officials.
To make the impeachment credible, the leader of the house, Hon Ubomesis, also announced the suspension of three councilors namely Hon. Sunday Ebosele (Ward 3), Hon. Smart Eboigbe (Ward 5), and Hon. Kingsley Osehon (Ward 10) for undisclosed reasons.
Reports from Igarra, headquarters of Akoko-Edo local government area indicated that some councilors stormed the legislative chamber where they held plenary and announced the impeachment of the chairman and his vice.
The counselors were said to have consequently taken over the office of the Chairman with an Acting Chairman, Hon Alabi Oshionogue, who was the Leader of the legislative arm.
Oshionogue was replaced by Hon Tope Jacob from Ward 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 Hon Alade.
A former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon Kabiru Adjoto, who witnessed the development said that he was satisfied with the peaceful way the proceedings went.
Alade reacts
Reacting, 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 councilors 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.” He said.
Inedegbor
A statement by the Press Secretary to Dr. Inedegbor, Okonofua Osemobor said there was no time Inedegbor was served any impeachment notice.
He said: “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 councilors to clear any allegations leveled against him.
“Upon our findings, it was revealed that the illegal impeachment took place at 12:30 am 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 revealed that 3 of their signatories were forged while 4 admitted they were coerced by a political leader in the local government whose identity will not be revealed at the moment.”
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