Edo Speaker’s impeachment final as lawmakers rebuff overtures from Oshiomhole, APC

The Tuesday impeachment of the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Hon Victor Edoror and his deputy, Hon. Bright Osayande may be final.

This is because the warring lawmakers have spurned overtures from the state governor, Comrade Adams Oshionhole and the state’s chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to rescind their earlier decision on the impeachment.

The impeached speaker and his deputy are believed to be loyalists of the Governor Oshiomhole which was why they were alleged not being able to push the governor for the welfare package of their colleagues.

Governor Oshiomhole and the leadership of the APC met with warring members of the state House of Assembly Tuesday night immediately after the impeachment.

The meeting was sequel to protests from APC members from the Edo Central senatorial district of the state where the Speakership was ceded to, who claimed that the change of leadership was dangerous for the party in Esanland where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seems stronger in the state, particularly as the governorship election approaches.

But the new Speaker of the House, Elizabeth Ativie and 16 members who signed the impeachment of the Speaker vowed to resist any attempt by the leadership of the party to persuade them to return Edoror.

Indeed some of the members after their meeting threatened that they were ready to dump the party for the PDP rather than bring back the impeached Speaker.

Sources close to the meeting said the governor made spirited attempts to persuade the lawmakers to change their decision but the members told the governor and leaders of the party how the Speaker had let them down, as he was only after his own interest while neglecting the interests of his colleagues whom they said were getting poorer by the day.

They were said to have informed the governor that while the Speaker receives N54million for the running of the Assembly monthly, their quarters were ill maintained as the Speaker never carried them along on how the N54million was being expended.

Besides, the lawmakers lamented that while the Speaker receives the sum of N9.5million monthly for running his office, other lawmakers receives their normal N370,000 as salaries, adding that even of the 45 Special Adviser positions allocated to the Assembly, the Speaker confiscated 25 to himself while most of the ordinary members are left out.

The impeached Speaker and his Deputy were also said to have attended the meeting but were dumbfounded when the angry lawmakers confronted them with the facts.

It was learnt that when the governor observed that the lawmakers were not ready to listen to his pleas, he quickly had a separate meeting with other leaders of the party including the state chairman of the APC, Anslem Ojezua, who is from the same senatorial district with the impeached Speaker.

But following the intransigence of the lawmakers, it was gathered the worry among the top echelon of the party in the state, is how to compensate the Esan people as both the Deputy Governorship slot and the Speaker are from Edo South while the governor is from Edo North. Consequent upon this, Governor Oshiomhole has scheduled another meeting with the lawmakers for Sunday due to the public Holidays announced by the state government in honour of the late Oba of Benin.