From Tony Osauzo, Benin
The gale of impeachment of Local Government Council Chairmen and Vice Chairmen in Edo State by members of the Legislative Arms of the Councils, continued yesterday with the removal of the Chairmen of Esan North East and Akoko-Edo Local Government Councils, Dr. Kelly Ehidiamen Inedegbor and Hon. Tajudeen Alade and their Vice Chairmen from office.
The Chairman of Esan North-East, Kelly Ehidiamen Inedegbor and his Vice, were said to have been impeached unanimously at Uromi by the Councilors over allegations of gross misconduct, abuse of office and failure to uphold their oath office.
The action reportedly followed 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.
The Councillors further hinged their action growing dissatisfaction among council members and the community over the leadership of the suspended officials.
Before the impeachment exercise, the Leader of the house, Hon. Ubomesisl announced the suspension of three Councilors – Hon. Sunday Ebosele (Ward 3), Hon. Smart Eboigbe (Ward 5), and Hon. Kingsley Osehon (Ward 10) for undisclosed reasons.
At Igarra, headquarter of Akoko-Edo Local Government Area, some Councilors were said have met in Legislative chamber after which they announced the impeachment of the Chairman and his vice and then moved to take over the office of the chairman with an Acting Chairman, Hon Alabi Oshionogue, who was the Leader of the legislative arm and then replaced by Hon. Tope Jacob as the new Leader of the House.
Shortly 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 the former Chairman, Hon. Alade.
A former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Kabiru Adjoto who witnessed the development said that he was satisfied with the peaceful way the proceedings went.
In his reaction, Alade said the purported impeachment 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.”
Similarly, the Chairman of Esan North East, Dr. Inedegbor while describing the action of the Councillors as illegal, said he was not served any impeachment notice.
A statement by the Press Secretary to Dr. Inedegbor, Okonofua Osemobor, 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 Councillors to clear any allegations levelled 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.”