Hundreds of supporters of Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, again, took to the streets on Sunday to protest against the plan by the state House of Assembly to impeach the deputy governor over the allegation of leaking government secrets.
This was as the parish priest of St Francis Catholic Church, Benin, Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Obiyan, appealed to Governor Godwin Obaseki to halt the impeachment move.
The Edo State House of Assembly had last Wednesday commenced impeachment proceedings against Shaibu accusing him of perjury and leaking the government’s secrets.
The impeachment move is believed to be the latest development in the rift between Shaibu and his principal, Obaseki.
There had been an uneasy calm between the deputy governor and his principal since last year when Shaibu declared his interest to join this year’s Edo governorship race.
The House, at the proceedings, directed its Clerk to serve the impeachment notice on Shaibu while it gave him seven days to respond.
However, as of Sunday, The PUNCH learnt that the House had yet to serve the impeachment notice on the deputy governor.
Shaibu’s supporters, under the aegis of Edo North PDP Rescue Movement, had first protested last Thursday.
On Sunday, they converged again at the popular Jattu Junction, Etsako West Local Government with placards in the early hours of the day.
The protesters, who marched round the major streets of the local government, carried placards bearing inscriptions such as: “We say no to impeachment of Philip Shaibu”; We say no to persecution of Philip Shaibu,” among others.
The leader of the protesters, Festus Owu, advised the Assembly to focus on providing good legislation for the Edo people rather than engage “in fruitless ventures of impeachment that bring no food to the table of hungry Edo people who suffer the brunt of bad governance and poor representation in the state.”
Owu said, “Every man has the right to contest an election; Philip Shaibu has expressed his willingness to contest to be Edo State Governor and anyone stopping it is deliberately returning the state to the era of godfatherism.
“The Edo State House of Assembly should focus on providing good legislation for the people.
“Governor Obaseki few years ago said that anybody, including himself, should be stoned whenever he makes an attempt to become a godfather in the state. The governor won’t be stoned but left to be tormented by his own conscience.
“Agbebaku (Assembly Speaker) should not become a puppet and rubber stamp Speaker in the hands of enemies of our state who do not mean well for the people. Also, the silence as the NWC is questionable, unacceptable and looks like they are part of the ongoing evil in the state. I will urge the NWC to do the needful.”
Meanwhile, in a statement on Sunday, Very Rev. Fr Obiyan also called on Obaseki to halt the impeachment move.
The cleric said, “I make a humble and passionate appeal to Your Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki, I entreat you because I regard you as a civilised and enlightened man. May it not be in the annals of Edo political history that there was once a Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, impeached under your watch for his aspiration. It will be perceived as a sting of ‘betrayal’ and it will invariably redefine ‘loyalty and aspiration’ as antithetical.
“Please, don’t get me wrong because this is far more polite than you can imagine. This is the kernel of my entreaty: Leave your deputy alone to deal with his issues and resolve them without initiating impeachment.
“Reconciliation is always a prosperous option. Listen to your kind heart. I am not insinuating he must be governor. Yet, we cannot justify an impeachment without putting a wedge on the path of positive advancement in other spheres of life.”
Obiyan urged Obaseki to “talk to Edo State House of Assembly to discontinue the impeachment process.”
“Honourable members must ensure that legislation prohibits any move that bears the semblance of retaliation. Do yourselves a favour because you don’t know the next victim in sudden political twists and turns,” the cleric said.
Meanwhile, the Edo State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Tony Aziegbemi, on Sunday, said the House of Assembly was an independent arm of government capable of taking care of its activities.
Aziegbemi added that the impeachment move would not scuttle efforts by the PDP National Working Committee to reconcile aggrieved members of the party ahead of the September 21 governorship election.
Aziegbemi said, “What I can tell you is that the House of Assembly is an independent arm of government and whatever they are doing does not affect the peace move by the national body.
“The reconciliatory committee will be in Edo on March 16 and 17 and I can only imagine that they will do their best to ensure that the party remains intact as we prepare for the September 21 election.”
