The speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku, has stated that there is no plan to remove or impeach deputy governor Philip Shaibu.
It was, however, gathered that insiders maintained that a collection of impeachable offences against Shaibu has been compiled, adding that it is being delayed due to the restraining order he obtained from the Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja.
Agbebaku urged Edo residents to disregard the rumours of the purported impeachment plot by the 24 lawmakers of the state’s House of Assembly.
The speaker spoke on Friday when the 24 members of the Assembly visited Governor Godwin Obaseki at the Government House, Benin.
Edo deputy governor, through his chief press secretary, Ebomhiana Musa, however, said: “No comment, please. We are here to clear the air on the insinuation of the impeachment of the deputy governor of Edo State. I want to let the people of Edo State know that there is nothing of such in the state’s House of Assembly.
“There was no time that the governor called me, and instructed me that there must be an impeachment against Edo deputy governor. The rumour of impeachment is from the pit of hell. I want to let the Edo people know today that till tomorrow, and the governor has not called to say the deputy governor should be impeached, next tomorrow is coming, and I don’t think the governor will say that to us.
“When I approached the Edo governor, he asked if there was anything of such. He asked what the impeachment was for. I told him there was no such plan. Nothing of such is going on. On my own, I called Edo’s deputy governor to tell him that there was nothing like an impeachment plan by the Assembly, and what he heard was a rumour.
“I want to let Edo people know that the story about the impeachment of the deputy governor is just a mere rumour, as the governor has no such plan today, tomorrow, and forever. The governor does not have such a plan.”
Agbebaku also described the visit to Obaseki as the second by Edo lawmakers.
He added: “We are here to remind you that what we came to tell you in our first courtesy call, we are standing by it. We are resolute to follow in your footsteps and ensure you finish well. It is our responsibility as members of our various constituencies to give you the backing to finish well, and strong.
“I also want to thank you for your resilience and for the rumours making you address the press, as we do not need that now, but what we need is to make Edo people happy. We are here to support you and ensure you finish strong.
“The 24 members of the Edo Assembly are all here, to let you know that we will join you to finish strong, as Edo people must live a good life, and you are already setting the pace.”
Obaseki, in his remarks, stated that the focus of his administration was to continue with its developmental strides in Edo, as he would not be distracted from delivering the dividends of democracy to residents of the state.
He said: “We have done so much in Edo. What the world should be hearing about us now should be the positive things going on in the state, not news about trouble or crisis. I want to thank the speaker and members of the Assembly for this courtesy and solidarity visit. We have so much work to be done, and I will try as much as possible not to allow any distractions.
“There is no crisis in Edo. No crisis in government. No crisis in the Edo Assembly, and those who benefit from the crisis, creating the crisis and reporting the crisis should not be given the opportunity here. What should be of concern to us today is the failure of federal roads in Edo, which have almost incapacitated the state, as the people are unable to move. That should be a crucial concern to us as Edo people.
“Crisis situation is like a war situation, where we cannot move within our state. We have extensive federal roads, and they lack the capacity of maintaining them, and we in Edo, and in the country, are almost cut off.”
He also stated that his government was making efforts and trying its best to build the state’s internal roads, get out of the messy situation, and grow Edo’s economy.