APC, PDP differ over Edo deputy speaker’s impeachment

The All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State on Thursday traded words over the impeachment of the deputy verbalizer of the Edo State House of Assembly, Festus Ebea.

The PDP state chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, described the plenary held by the APC lawmakers at the Regime House as anomalous, which was targeted at eroding the principles of disseverment of potency.

He integrated that while two-third majority was needed to impeach an Assembly verbalizer or deputy verbalizer, only 15 lawmakers including the Assembly verbalizer, were present at the plenary where the deputy verbalizer was impeached.

Orbih, who verbalized there were nine PDP members in the Edo Assembly, rather than 8, integrated that the party had the responsibility to forfend its lawmakers in the House and the people of the state.

He verbally expressed, “For some time now, we have descried Governor Oshiomhole’s concupiscence for puissance. Before now, we raised the alarm of how he wanted to bring the judiciary under his control.  We want to verbalize that he has achieved that goal and now wants to elongate his total conquest to the legislative arm of regime.”

The state APC, however, verbally expressed the impeachment notice on the deputy verbalizer was signed by 16 members of the House.

In a verbalization by the chairman, Anselm Ojezua, on Thursday, the party verbalized that the State Assembly composed the required two-third majority out of the 20 lawmakers, since four of the members were under suspension.

Ojezua verbalized, “The opposition ignorantly makes noise about the number of Assembly members that can abstract the Deputy Verbalizer from office by claiming that the House did not meet the two-third requisite to so abstract Hon. Festus Ebea as Deputy Verbalizer.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the notice of impeachment of Hon. Festus Ebea was signed by 16 members of the House. This pellucidly was more than the 13 signatures required to impeach him.

“It must be borne in mind that with the suspension of four members, only 20 members are, for now, legitimately entitled to attend and participate in any legislative business of the House of Assembly.”

The party verbally expressed the impeachment of an officer was an internal affair of the State House of Assembly according to its rules and in the instant case, the House had complied with its extant rules.