Impeachment: Edo deputy governor writes Speaker, denying he is evading service

By Christiana Ekpa

The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, has written the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku to according to him, correct some perception.
The Speaker of the House, Blessing Agbebaku, had alleged at plenary on Monday that the Deputy Governor refused to acknowledge the impeachment notice.
Agbebaku, however, ordered that the notice should be served on the Deputy Governor in the State-Owned Nigeria Observer and other national dailies.
Following the speaker’s directive, the notice was published on Tuesday in the Nigerian Observer and the Vanguard Newspaper, respectively.
The speaker at the plenary added that the directive to publish the notice in newspapers was to ensure all avenues are explored to adequately serve the impeachment notice and elicit his response within the seven-day ultimatum given by the House.
However, reacting to the Speaker’s statement, Shaibu denied being served with an impeachment notice from the State House of Assembly, as alleged by Speaker Blessing Agbebaku.
Shaibu, in a letter addressed to the speaker titled “RE: SERVICE OF IMPEACHMENT NOTICE,” dated March 12, 2024, urged the Speaker to correct the impression created in the minds of the public that he evaded being served.
The letter, signed by Charles Olubayo, Personal Assistant to the Deputy Governor, stated, “No impeachment notice was ever served on the Deputy Governor, let alone refusing to acknowledge it.
“According to him, the Office of the Deputy Governor, Edo State, wishes to draw your attention to the inaccuracies and misleading information that emanated from the plenary session of Monday, March 11, 2024, wherein Mr. Speaker directed that the impeachment notice be served on the Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu through newspaper publications.
“The speaker, who listed the newspapers as the Nigerian Observer and other national dailies, alleged that the directive was a result of the refusal of the Deputy Governor to acknowledge the impeachment notice.
“Mr. Speaker was quoted to have also stated at the said plenary that ‘the action became necessary because the Deputy Governor refused to acknowledge an earlier impeachment notice sent to him through the Clerk of the House.
“We wish to state categorically that no impeachment notice was ever served on the Deputy Governor, let alone refusing to acknowledge the impeachment notice,” he said.
Olubayo, who said that the Deputy Governor had traveled out of Benin to Abuja since March 3, 2024, noted that he was yet to return to Benin.
He also added that the Clerk of the State House of Assembly has not seen the Deputy Governor, whether in the office, at home, or anywhere, since the date the House initiated the impeachment process.
He, however, expressed surprise that the House resolved to publish the impeachment notice in the newspapers because “the Deputy Governor refused to acknowledge the earlier impeachment notice sent to him through the Clerk of the House.
The Personal Assistant to the Deputy Governor also expressed wonder at where the Clerk or his appointee served him (Shaibu) the impeachment notice, and he refused to acknowledge it.
“Neither the Clerk nor any person sent an impeachment notice to the Deputy Governor which he refused to acknowledge.
“It is, therefore, our prayer that Mr. Speaker corrects the impression created in the public as the outcome of yesterday’s plenary to avoid misrepresentation in this all-important matter,” he stated