Hon Eghe Ogbemudia the embattled Council Chairmen
By Kingsley Abavo in Benin
On Wednesday, 17 July, 2024, the Egor Local Government Council Secretariat in Uselu, Edo State was besieged by an army of thugs after the Chairman, Hon. Eghe Ogbemudia was on Tuesday, 16 July, 2024 sacked from office by the Legislative arm.
The Chairman allegedly padded the Council’s supplementary budget and committed other acts of corruption, hence her sack, the Legislative arm of the Council said.
As the Secretariat was opened for the day’s business, and the workers were resuming for work, the thugs were brought into the premises in commercial buses numbering about 10 and a few other private vehicles.
The menacingly looking thugs mainly youths suspected to be loyal to the Legislators and their sponsor; speculated to be the power that be at Osadebay Avenue, took strategic positions and ready for anything unusual that would happen.
This is even as there was heavy presence of security operatives; police and the vigilantes on ground to forestall any break down of the law and order.
They laid siege to the Council till about 2:00p.m when the Legislative arm leader, Godwin Uwadiae Edigin came to vacate them and together they left in a convoy to the State Government House allegedly to brief the Governor, Godwin Obaseki on the development.
Their presence obviously created uneasy calm in the Secretariat with workers in small groups, talking in hush tones.
Thus making the atmosphere densely tense with the fear of the unknown.
Throughout, both the Chairman, his Vice, and even Secretary to the Local Government Council were absent from office.
The Legislative arm Leader; Edigin representing Ward 3, presided over the sack of the Chairman.
Eghe Ogbemudia was said to have padded the Council’s supplementary budget for the year 2024; with the sum of N1.7bn and committed other acts of gross misconduct not spelt out.
Consequently, the Legislators passed a vote of no confidence on her, and pronounced her impeached.
The Councillor representing Ward 2, Hon. Stella Osagioduwa Ogida, moved a motion for a vote of no confidence against the Chairman.
Ogida stated: “This is the 10th month since our inauguration and we, the Councillors of Egor Legislative Arm do not have our offices.
“We have also uncovered the padding of the council’s supplementary budget to the tune of N1.7 billion.
“The Chairman did not involve the councilors in the preparation and approval of the council’s supplementary budget.
“After reviewing these actions and many other acts of gross misconduct, I want to pass a vote of no confidence on the chairman.”
Seconding the motion, Hon. Ambassador Elliot Inneh, Councillor representing Ward 9, said: “We have tried to reach out to the Honourable Chairman to no avail.
“Before us today, we have a budget proposal amounting to N6.054bn that was passed through this hallowed chambers.
“To our greatest surprise, we found out that the Chairman in connivance with the erstwhile Leader of the House, went behind our back and padded the budget to the tune of N7.896bn.”
As at the time of filing in this report on Wednesday night, no word has been heard from the Governor, neither the State House of Assembly.
But feelers from reliable sources say that the Chairman is said to have stepped on the red line, and drew the anger of the Governor.
Allegedly, for some time now, she is proving difficult to be trusted hobnobbing with members of the opposition party; the All Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of the September Governorship election in Edo State.
In her first tenure, she was also suspended from office for alleged various offences, and was only forgiven to return barely at the tale end.
Now that she is again going through a familiar path, who knows how it would end?
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