From Tony Osauzo, Benin
The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State in the September 21 polls, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, has denied having a hand in the impeachment of the former deputy governor, Philip Shaibu.
Recall that Shaibu was impeached by the state House of Assembly on April 8 over allegation of disclosure of government secrets.
But while speaking last Saturday at Ogbonna, the home stead of the PDP National Vice Chairman, South South, Chief Dan Orbih, during a meeting, Shaibu fingered Ighodalo as the one that sponsored his impeachment.
Reacting to the allegation, Ighodalo described it as fake and cooked up claim to tarnish his reputation.
The refutal was contained in a statement released by his media team yesterday and made available to Journalists in Benin City.
The statement read: “While we would not usually join issues in response to every passing comment, it has become imperative to address the recent spurious allegations by former Deputy Governor Phillip Shaibu.
“It is necessary for the record, to state in no uncertain terms, that Dr. Asue Ighodalo has had no role or involvement in any form whatsoever in the very public process leading to Mr. Shuaibu’s impeachment and subsequent removal from office by the Edo State House of Assembly.
“These claims are completely without merit, and Mr. Ighodalo categorically denies any such involvement. These allegations are a clear attempt to unjustly tarnish his reputation and divert attention from the actual issues at hand”.
Ighodalo called on the public to disregard the claim, saying “We urge the public and the media to regard these false statements with well-deserved skepticism”.
He said he remained focused on running a governorship campaign based on issues and devoid of distractions.
