The Governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime, says he has not been served any impeachment notice by members of the House of Assembly.
Addressing a press conference after few hours after news that he had been served impeachment notice by lawmakers spread, Governor Chime expressed shock over the allegation of forgery brought against him by the lawmakers.
He said the action of the lawmakers was malicious and would never see the light of day.
The governor took time to explain his activities in the service of the state and restated that he had not stolen the state’s fund and would not be daft to broach the subject of borrowing 11 billion Naira almost at the completion of his tenure.
“Spinning Lies”
According to the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, the accusation levelled against the Mr Chime was unfounded and intended to diminish the person of the Governor who by all standard had done creditably well for the state.
He said the factional House, led by Eugene Odoh, was merely struggling to justify their irrational action by spinning lies against the governor.
Fifteen out of 24 members of the Enugu State House of Assembly had earlier on Monday commenced an impeachment process, putting forward allegations of forgery, inflation of funds for state project execution and unlawful acquisition of public landed property.
The process took a different turn when eight members of the House loyal to the Governor sat, impeached the Speaker, Honourable Eugene Odoh, and shot down the House indefinitely.
Despite the impeachment by the few members of the House, the ‘impeached Speaker’, Honourable Eugene Odoh, said the lawmakers would continue with the impeachment process on Tuesday, insisting that the Governor had been duly served.
But the factional ‘new Speaker’, Honourable Chinedu Nwamba, said the activities of the other faction was null and void, “as the Speaker, Eugene Odoh had been removed, with himself emerging the new speaker”.
He also said that the 11 billion Naira loan issue raised by Mr Oboh had long been done with and did not in any way tantamount to an impeachable offence.
Mr Odoh, however, said the ‘purported impeachment’ was impunity in the face of democracy which had diminished the Enugu State House of Assembly as well as the Executive arm of government.
He had stated that the last straw was the House’s rejection to approve the 11 billion Naira loan which the governor forwarded to the House on grounds that it was not morally wise and would be a burden on the incoming government, as the loan would be paid under Irrevocable Standing Payment order within three years.
Giving credence to the emergence of a ‘new speaker’ in the face of the present circumstance, the Deputy Leader of the House of Assembly and Chairman House Committee on Information, said “once the House becomes dissatisfied with the performance of a house officer, it required the majority members of the House to remove such an officer”.
