The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo state says there is an ongoing plan to impeach local government chairpersons in the state.

On December 17, the Edo state house of assembly suspended all 18 chairpersons and their deputies over allegations of misappropriation of funds.

Blessing Agbebaku, speaker of the house, said Monday Okpebholo, the state governor, filed a petition to the assembly over the refusal of the LGA heads to submit the financial records of their councils.

Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation, had condemned the action of the parliament, saying state houses of assembly have no powers to suspend or remove council chairpersons.

Last Friday, a high court in Edo state ordered the reinstatement of the suspended chairpersons and their deputies.

‘OKPEBHOLO WORKING TO IMPEACH LGA CHAIRPERSONS’

In a statement released on Tuesday, Anthony Aziegbemi, chairman of the PDP caretaker committee in Edo state, claimed that Okpebholo is “sponsoring meetings across the LAGs in a desperate bid to impeach the substantive chairmen”.

Aziegbemi alleged that Damian Lawani, chairman of the local government service commission; and Gani Audu, Okpebholo’s chief of staff, are “actively involved in these unlawful acts”.

“He (Audu) has been threatening and harassing councillors across the State, trying to force them to cut ties with the substantive elected local government chairmen, with the warning that their loyalty should be to the governor and nobody else,” the statement reads.

“Furthermore, Okpebholo has directed that under no circumstances must any council chairman be granted access to his office in the Council, ordering the Council Administrators to work in conjunction with all relevant security Agencies and their party thugs to achieve this devious plan.

“The plan we are aware is to lure or force the councillors to impeach the substantive chairmen (without recourse to the laid down process enshrined in our laws).“

“alter signatories to local government accounts as well as clandestine efforts to withdraw funds from local government accounts without a proper mandate”.

“There are also reports of illegal requests for sensitive council documents by unauthorized persons,” he said.

“This flagrant disregard for our judiciary and the subversion of the Constitution of our country is a serious threat to our democracy and if this lawlessness is allowed to continue, it will not only undermine the rule of law but will also create a dangerous precedent, weakening our entire legal and democratic system.

“What we are witnessing, and we say this with all sense of responsibility, is an attempt to unlawfully and illegally remove or overthrow an elected tier of government in Edo state, a component and federating unit of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, contrary to Section 1(2) of the Constitution and judicial orders. In other words, an attempted coup d’etat in the state.”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo says the suspension of all the chairpersons and their deputies in the 18 LGAs of the state is “unconstitutional”.

The chairpersons and their deputies were suspended on Tuesday by the Edo state house of assembly for two months over alleged misappropriation of funds.

Blessing Agbebaku, the speaker of the house, said Monday Okpebholo, governor of Edo, had written a petition to the assembly regarding the chairpersons’ refusal to submit the financial records of their LGs to the state government.

In a statement, Anthony Aziegbemi, chair of the PDP in Edo, said the “illegal” suspension is a disregard to a supreme court decision that affirms the autonomy and independence of local governments.

“How can the governor direct the State Assembly to suspend democratically elected chairmen of the 18 local councils for insubordination when these elected officials enjoy autonomy and independence as enshrined in the constitution and are not subordinates of the governor, the state assembly, or any other arm of government?,” he said.

“We are also aware that the chairmen and their vices were not even given the opportunity to be heard in their detence and were suspended unheard on watery trumped up charges, in total disregard to the constitution.

“We want to restate that the constitution remains supreme, and any attempt to undermine its provisions or disregard the judiciary and its rulings is not only illegal but also a direct attack on democracy and the rule of law.

“The speaker of the Edo state house of assembly and the entire assembly have clearly overstepped their constitutional mandates with this illegal action and we urge them to immediately reverse its decision, in respect to the rule of law and democratic governance.”

Aziegbemi said the suspended officials should report to their councils on Wednesday and carry on with their normal duties.

Also speaking on the issue, Anthony Ehilebo, a PDP chieftain, said Okpebholo has no legal backing to request the financial records of the LGAs.

“In fact, the governor and the assembly members are in contempt of the supreme court,” Ehilebo said when he appeared on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.

“The purported suspension of the local government chairmen by the state assembly is as absurd as the president asking the national assembly to suspend state governors because they refused to submit statements of accounts to him.

“This is a witch hunt. The LGA chairmen are all PDP members.”

The lawyer said the suspension “is unknown to law and will be ignored”.

Bolaji Abdullahi, a former minister of sports and youth development, has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He disclosed his intention to resign in a letter dated December 16 and addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Ubadawaki, Kwara state.

Abdullahi confirmed the development to TheCable on Monday.

The ex-minister also said he is yet to decide which political platform to pitch tent with.

“The decision of what to do and where to go will be taken in the future that’s left to God,” he said.

In the resignation letter, Abdullahi said he reached the “difficult” decision after days of reflection and introspection.

“I write to formally resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” the letter reads.

“I have had ample time to reflect, and I have come to the difficult conclusion that this is the only tenable option for me at this time.

“Mr. Chairman, please permit me to express, through you, my gratitude to the leadership of the party for the opportunities that I have had to serve the state and the country on its platform, and for the great moments we have shared.”

Abdullahi was the PDP candidate for the Kwara central senatorial district election in 2023. He lost the race to Salihu Mustapha of the All Progressives Congress (APC).