Enugu Crisis Toughens As Plot To Impeach Odo Reaches Advanced Stage

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, News, Politics Friday, November 7th, 2014

IGNATIUS OKPARA, Enugu

Impeachment of Enugu Speaker, Eugene Odo, thickens, as he adjourns plenary till December

The plot to Impeach Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Eugene Odo has reached advance stage, as over 20 out of the 24 member Assembly have signed the Impeachment notice to be served on the embattled Speaker any time from now.

African Examiner reliably gathered that the impeachment move against the speaker who had been in office since the inception of the Governor Sullivan Chime administration in 2007, may not be unconnected with his insistence to contest the 2015 governorship election against the governor’s favoured candidate, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

It would be recalled that Governor Chime and some stakeholders of the party from Enugu North senatorial zone (Nsukka area), where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) zoned the governorship slot, had few months ago adopted Ugwuanyi as their consensus candidate.

However, the action did not go down well with three Governorship Aspirants from the zone and some others from different areas, which includes Odo, Senator Ayogu Eze, Chief Chinedu Onu, Evang. Sam Onyishi and Chief Anayo Onwuegbu, as they all defied the consensus arrangement and remained in the race.

To match his words with action, Odo, had last week declared his interest formally during a press briefing, just as he purchased the expression of interest and nomination forms of the party few days later. Odo has filled and since returned the form to the PDP secretariat.

Chime, and the PDP stakeholders in the state, had viewed Odo’s action as disloyalty to the government and the party hence, the need to remove him.

Angered by the development and the Speaker’s insistence, Chime, our Correspondent further gathered quickly mobilized his loyalists at the State Assembly to raise impeachable offences against him Odo, which includes alleged financial misconduct.

Apparently to scuttle the impeachment process, Odo, had on Tuesday, tactically adjourned sitting of the House till December 2nd on the guise that the adjournment was to “enable members participate effectively in the party’s delegates election”.

A staff of the house who craved anonymity said: “The impeachment threat is real. There is serious mobilization going on among the members, especially among principal officers of the House”.

Our Correspondent recalled that the lawmakers, had earlier unanimously denied rumours of an impeachment plot against the Speaker after he opposed the manner in which the consensus gubernatorial candidate emerged last month without proper consultation with the gladiators.

But the legislators later changed their minds to sack the Speaker, following pressures from the PDP stakeholders in the state.