Those who say politics is a dirty game and a game where dogs-eat-dogs sure know what they are talking about. It is a game where there are no permanent enemies but permanent interests, Politics is a game where betrayal is taken as a part of the game. Politics is a game for the fittest, strongest and meanest.
In Edo State, what used to be a match made in heaven for Governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Phillip Shaibu, has since not just turned sour, but as things appear now, only the total emasculation of Shaibu will be good enough and acceptable to Governor Obaseki.
And given his antecedent, Obaseki will not back down until Shaibu is completely ruined, politically and economically.
Shaibu’s sin is that he dared to contest for the office of the governor of the state. Obaseki has his preferred candidate and Shaibu’s position is that the contest be left open for all to try their popularity and acceptance by the Edo people.
Knowing the sheer size of the ego of our sitting governors, Shaibu’s temerity to go against the desire of Obaseki is a sin that cannot be forgiven, Of course, for daring to go the whole hog and fight for the ticket of the PDP, Shaibu should be prepared for the worst.
Asue Ighodalo, a former banker, and preferred choice of Obaseki recently won the PDP governorship ticket in Edo while Mr Shaibu, through a parallel primary election in which he was a lone candidate, claimed he was the rightful candidate of the party.
After denying him access to his office and relocating the office of the deputy governor, Obaseki also denied him his rights and privileges as deputy governor, in spite of the fact that they both jointly share the ticket.
Having frustrated, harassed and intimidated him, what is left now for Obaseki is to ensure that every memory of Shaibu is erased from the state government record and to deny him whatever is due him after eight years as his deputy through impeachment.
And like all state assemblies, the Edo State Assembly is poised to carry out the biddings of Obaseki. Shaibu, had in February alleged of a fresh plot to impeach him.
Shaibu, who had been declared winner of a factional governorship primary election that was reportedly held at his residence in Benin City, the state capital, said he would not be deterred as contesting the Edo governorship election is his constitutional right Speaking in Abuja Shaibu said his team revealed the alleged plot to impeach him over his ambition.
“And I said, well, if fighting for my rights and all of us collectively fighting for our rights, which is in the constitution, can trigger impeachment, so be it because fighting for my rights and saying I must contest the election are my constitutional rights and cannot be taken by anybody. So, if constitutional right is why they will now trigger impeachment, the courts are there, they will interpret it.”
Recall that on July 28, Shaibu approached a federal high court in Abuja with a suit to prevent an alleged impeachment plot against him. Shaibu asked the court to restrain Obaseki, the speaker of the state assembly, and the chief judge, from “initiating impeachment proceedings or sanctioning any impeachment” against him.
On August 4, the court restrained Obaseki, the speaker, and other parties in the suit from initiating impeachment moves against Shaibu.
Reacting to the suit, Obaseki alleged that Shaibu wanted to kick him out of office ‘because of his desperation to succeed him’.
He also said there was no plan to impeach Shaibu. On September 5, Shaibu withdrew the suit against Obaseki.
However, penultimate Wednesday, March 6 precisely, the Edo House of Assembly, commenced impeachment proceedings against Shaibu.
The Majority Leader, Charity Aiguobarueghian (PDP Ovia North-East 1), who announced the impeachment notice, said a petition dated 5 March against Mr. Shaibu, was signed by 21 of the 24 members of the legislature.
He added that the petition was based on perjury and the disclosure of government secrets. Mr Aiguobarueghian noted that the number of members who signed the petition was higher than two-thirds which is required by the constitution.
Speaker of the House, Blessing Agbebaku (PDP-Owan-West), who acknowledged receipt of the petition, directed the Clerk of the House, Yahaya Omogbai, to serve the impeachment notice on the deputy governor.
Mr Agbebaku also gave the deputy governor seven days to respond to the notice of impeachment. Meanwhile, Shaibu has denied that an impeachment notice was served on him.
However, the Assembly has directed that the impeachment notice be published in national dailies (by substitution) as it has become impossible to serve the deputy governor the letter in person.
It is rather unfortunate that our brand of democracy has remained a poor replica of how democracy is practised in the US from where we copied it from.
The very principle and letter of the separation of power is to allow for checks and balances and also ensure that all arms of government are put in check. Unfortunately, in our own experience, all other other arms of government are completely under the control of the executive. The worst culprits are the governors who are so powerful that they literally have the powers to decide who lives and who dies.
Of course, the Edo State Assembly is only acting on a script written and directed by Governor Obaseki, and woe betide them if they chose to, as much ask question, let alone, advise the governor against this bloated ego trip of his.
The perjury and the disclosure of government secrets allegations upon which the assembly is pursuing this shenanigan cannot hold water.
How has it become a crime to seek an office? Why has our brand of democracy allowed the governors so much power that they can get away with murder?
Obaseki must be enjoying the fact that everybody seems to be begging him not to carry out his plot against his deputy whose only offence is that he has chosen to decide his own destiny.
Knowing Obaseki for who he is, that pliable House would successfully carry out his biddings and impeach Shaibu, but he must be told that if there is any betrayal of trust between both of them, it is Obaseki who has betrayed Shaibu, after walking through thick and thin with him in his moments of trials, the least he could do is to at least allow him serve out his tenure as deputy governor. Obaseki is the one that has acted true to type by exhibiting his penchant for betraying those who had given him a shoulder to lean on during his moments of tribulation.
