From Godwin Tsa, Abuja and Tony Osauzo, Benin
EDO State government has said Omobayo Godwins remains and will continue to serve as the valid deputy governor pending the hearing of the appeal of the judgment that faulted the impeachment of Philip Shaibu.
In a statement, Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, said the state has filed a stay of execution on the judgment, urging the people to remain calm and go about their lawful businesses.
“Following a Federal High Court, Abuja, judgment that faulted the impeachment of Shaibu, the Edo State government has filed a stay of execution of the judgment.
“Pending the hearing of the appeal of the judgment, the incumbent, Godwins, remains and continues to serve as the valid deputy governor of Edo State. He will continue to serve in this capacity and would be recognised as such.
“The government hereby calls on the people of Edo State to remain calm and go about their lawful businesses.”
But the National Vice Chairman, South South of PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, said he was delighted by the judgment because he led the campaign that brought Shaibu and Governor Obaseki to serve a second term in 2020.
“I want to sincerely congratulate Phillip Shaibu over his landmark victory in the legal battle against his unlawful impeachment by the Edo State House of Assembly.”
He appealed to all political actors in the state to let the judgment be the basis for a new and more fruitful relationship, especially within the PDP and citizens of the state.
On his part, Anslem Ojezua, former governorship aspirant of the party, said with the judgment, common sense and the rule of law had prevailed.
“Today, I think that those who believed in the rule of law have prevailed. We can’t rule Edo State like a banana republic. There are rules and they are meant to be obeyed. The House of Assembly violated all the rules and came up with trump up charges, ” he said.
He advised Governor Obaseki to begin a reconciliation process within the party and with the people
Press Secretary to Shaibu, Musa Ebomhiana, described the judgement as victory for democracy and rule of law
“For us, it’s a victory for democracy and the rule of law. The judiciary remains the last hope of the common man. For mere mortals who think they can play God in the lives of others, this judgement serves as a lesson. He appoints kings and kings as it pleases Him. Those who have ears, let them hear.
“For the statement hurriedly issued by the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, we see it as an affront on the judiciary, a blatant attempt to ridicule the sound judgement delivered by the Honourable Justice Omotosho of the FCT Federal High Court.
“The statement smacks of arrogance of power on the part of the Edo State Government, by insisting that nothing has changed, Omobayo remains the Deputy Governor.”
“Nehikhare and his co-travellers should be reminded that power is transient, especially for them with less than four months to vacate office”, he admonished.
The reactions followed the judgment of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court which reinstated the impeached Shaibu after declaring his purported impeachment as illegal, unconditional, null and void.
James Omotosho, in his judgment, held that the impeachment was in gross violation of the provisions of both Sections 188 and 35 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
Consequently, the court ordered that all his salaries, allowances, and benefits should be paid to him from April 8, when he was illegally impeached, until the expiration of his tenure.
The court further issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining Governor Godwin Obaseki and the Edo State House of Assembly from stopping Shaibu from performing the functions of his office.
Omotosho equally ordered the inspector general of police to immediately restore all his security details.
The court maintained that the reason the Edo Assembly gave for impeaching the plaintiff was lame and smacked of an orchestrated political vendetta.
The House of Assembly impeached Shaibu on Monday, April 8, 2024, following the adoption of the report of the seven-man investigative panel set up by the state chief judge to probe allegations of misconduct against the former deputy governor.
The investigative panel that set up the Edo State House of Assembly was headed by S. A. Omonua and probed Shaibu on allegations of perjury and leakage of government secrets, ending its sittings with the former deputy governor refusing to appear before it.
Shaibu was impeached by the vote of 18 out of 19 members of the Assembly present at plenary, while one abstained from the headcount and voting process.
Governor Obaseki had, upon the impeachment of Shaibu, picked Godwins as his deputy to complete his second tenure in office, which elapsed on November 11.
Dissatisfied with the impeachment processes and others, Shaibu, dragged the Edo State House of Assembly and others before Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja division, challenging his impeachment from office.
Delivering his judgment, Omotoso held that the removal of the plaintiff (Shaibu), from office as deputy governor of Edo State and the subsequent appointment of Godwins as his replacement by the state governor was illegal, unconstitutional, null, and void.
The court held that there was a breach of the provisions of the procedure laid out in Section 188(1) to (9) in the way and manner the impeachment process was conducted, noting that the ouster clause in Section 188(10) limiting the jurisdiction is not a stand-alone provision.
The court referred to the decision of the Nigerian Supreme Court in Inakoju v. Adeleke (2007) and accordingly ordered the 1st defendant, the inspector general of police, to immediately restore the security of the plaintiff as deputy governor of Edo State.
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