Breaking – Why 9 Members Endorsed Edo Speaker’s Impeachment Letter

It has been revealed why nine out of the ten members of the Edo State House of Assembly present at a brief sitting endorsed the impeachment of the speaker, Francis Okiye.

The removal of the speaker which has not come as a total surprise followed a motion by the Majority Leader, Henry Okhurobo.

The house motion raised an allegation of high-handedness against the speaker, which immediately elected Marcus Onobun, representing Esan West State Constituency, as the new Speaker.

The Eagle can recall that Edo has been political hotbed in the recent, the apex of which is the recently concluded gubernatorial election, in which the incumbent governor, Godwin Obaseki. was re-elected.

The assembly itself was inaugurated at night with only nine, out of 24 lawmakers-elect, on June 17, 2019, following an alleged proclamation by the governor

The 14 lawmakers, who were not part of the process, as well as the All Progressives Congress, rejected the process and called on the governor to issue a fresh proclamation.

However, a Federal High Court in Rivers State barred the governor from doing so. A separate court also barred the National Assembly from taking over the Edo Assembly.

This worsened the crisis within the APC in the state and deepened the feud between Obaseki and his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole, who was also the National Chairman of the APC.

On the other hand, an attempt by the aggrieved lawmakers to be inaugurated was, however, scuttled by men claiming to be renovating the Assembly complex.

However, the APC claimed the men were thugs hired by the governor who was afraid of being impeached.

Obaseki, had, shortly after his re-election, said he lacked the power to bring back the 14 lawmakers yet to be inaugurated, saying they themselves “refused to be inaugurated”.

 “They were listening to their godfather who kept hoping and promising that he would unconstitutionally get the state House of Assembly to reissue a proclamation even after the court had settled the matter.

“For more than 180 days they did not come. They refused to represent the people. Those seats became vacant; that’s what the constitution says.

“They went to court after the seats were declared vacant by the Speaker. There is nothing I can do to that at this time.

“I wish it did not happen but people were playing God and promising what is not constitutionally possible.

“It is not about me. I am an elected governor of Edo. I am not one that planted people into the house of Assembly.

“They, on their own, operated the rules the way it should be, the seats are now vacant.

“We should learn that democracy is underpinned by the constitution and the law.

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“Even if I wanted today to bring them back, I don’t have such powers.

“I do not have anything against them because I do not have such authority to bring them back to the house.