Ebun Francis || More details have emerged over the decision of Edo State house of Assembly to impeach their speaker, Justin Okonoboh on Monday morning.
Okonoboh, according to sources familiar with the workings of the Edo State House of Assembly was impeached because he was unable to stand up to the governor of the state as it concerns the welfare of members of the house and other related issues.
According to one of the sources, ”Okonoboh couldn’t protect the interest of our members, the man was afraid of the governor for reasons we could not understand”.
He continued, ”the legislature is an independent arm of government but the former speaker almost turned us into an appendage of the executive, we refuse to accept that”.
Another APC political operative in the state also said that the impeachment of the speaker is likely the beginning of a crack in the relationship between former governor Adams Oshiomhole and the incumbent, Godwin Obaseki.
According to the operative who also did not want his name in print, the impeachment could not have happened without the tacit approval of the former governor.
There has been uneasy calm in the last couple of months over the leadership position in the Edo State House of Assembly as members mulled over their options as speculation mounted that Mr. Okonoboh, who assumed office barely a year ago, might be impeached.
After the impeachment of Okonoboh on Monday morning, Kabiru Adjoto and Victor Edoro were immediately appointed as the new speaker and deputy speaker respectively.
It will be recalled that Mr. Okonoboh’s predecessor, Victor Edoror, was impeached under similar circumstances in June 2016.