Embattled Edo Dep Gov, Shaibu, denies evading impeachment notice served by Assembly

The embattled Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, yesterday denied being served with impeachment notice from the State House of Assembly.

The Speaker of the House, Hon. Blessing Agbebaku, had claimed that Shaibu was served with the notice during plenary on Monday.

The Assembly had accused the Deputy Governor of dodging the impeachment notice.

Hence, in an attempt to move the process forward, the Assembly announced plans to serve the notice through newspaper publications.

The inability of the House, according to the Speaker, to physically serve Shaibu led to a substituted service through advertorial in the newspaper.

Recall that last week, the Assembly initiated impeachment proceedings against Shaibu, with a petition signed by 21 out of the 24 members.

However, in a letter addressed to the Speaker dated March 12, 2024 and titled “RE: Service of Impeachment Notice,” signed by the Personal Assistant to the Deputy Governor, Charles Olubayo, Shaibu denied ever being served any letter or refusing to collect the same.

READ ALSO: Edo Assembly goes ahead with impeachment move on Shaibu, to use newspaper notice

He said he has been out of the state since March 3 and therefore could not have been served as claimed during plenary.

He said: “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 Nigeria Observer and other national dailies, ‘sequel to 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.

“The Deputy Governor has since March 3, 2024 travelled out of Benin to Abuja and has not returned to Benin since the said March 3, 2024.

“The Clerk never saw the Deputy Governor whether in the office, at home or anywhere for that matter since the said date; hence surprised that the House resolved to publish the impeachment notice in the Observer and other national dailies because ‘the Deputy Governor refused to acknowledge the earlier impeachment notice sent to him through the Clerk of the House.’ One therefore wonders where the Clerk or his appointee served him the impeachment notice and he refused to acknowledge it.

“Neither the Clerk nor any person sent 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.”

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