Dr. Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the upcoming September 21 governorship election in Edo State, has denied involvement in the impeachment of the state’s former Deputy Governor, Mr. Philip Shaibu.
Shaibu was impeached on April 8, 2024, following the adoption of a report by a seven-member investigative panel set up by the Edo State House of Assembly to probe allegations of misconduct against him.
The impeachment came amid a long-standing rift between Shaibu and Governor Godwin Obaseki over Shaibu’s intention to contest the governorship election, despite opposition from Obaseki.
In a statement issued by his media campaign team on Monday, Ighodalo categorically denied playing any role in the process leading to Shaibu’s removal from office by the state House of Assembly.
Ighodalo urged the public to disregard claims linking him to the impeachment, describing such allegations as a clear attempt to unjustly tarnish his reputation and divert attention from the actual issues at hand.
According to Ighodalo, he remains focused on running a governorship campaign based on issues and devoid of distractions.
The impeachment process against Shaibu began on March 6, when the Edo State House of Assembly served him with an impeachment notice, alleging gross misconduct.
Due to Shaibu’s alleged evasion, the House ordered a substituted service, which was published in newspapers on March 12.
After a seven-day ultimatum granted to Shaibu to respond to the impeachment notice expired, the House moved to establish the seven-member investigative panel during a plenary session on April 7.
Meanwhile, the rift between Shaibu and Obaseki dates back to November 2023, when Shaibu revealed during an interview on Channels TV’s “Politics Today” programme that the feud began after he visited and congratulated Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of the state and Obaseki’s political adversary, on winning his Senate seat.
Oshiomhole, who supported Obaseki as his successor in 2016, later became a political adversary after allegedly resisting Obaseki’s bid to secure the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for a second term.
This situation prompted Obaseki to defect to the then-opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where he secured the party’s ticket and subsequently won the September 2020 governorship election.
