By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA—Former Chief Press Secretary to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, Mr John Mayaki, has dragged his erstwhile boss before the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, in Abuja accusing him of severally breaching provisions of the 1999 Constitution in respect of the crisis rocking the state House of Assembly.

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki

Joined with the governor are his deputy, Philip Shuaibu, and Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie, in the petition.

He is asking the CCB “to prosecute the aforementioned individuals for the breach of paragraphs 1 and 9 of the code of conduct applicable to public officers whether acting in person or under any of the capacity specified under paragraph 13 of the Code of Conduct and when the allegations above made out, apply the sanctions contained in paragraph 18(2) on the parties when successfully prosecuted before the code of conduct tribunal.”

While he exonerated the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, over allegations of using some state legislators to fight Obaseki, Mayaki accused the governor of resorting to begging rather than doing the needful in accordance with legal provisions.

He said: “If you think because Oshiomhole is the National Chairman of the party and from Edo State, that you can blackmail him into submission, it will not work. Obaseki has no issue with Oshiomhole.

“This is a constitutional matter. People were inaugurated at 9 p.m., to the exclusion of others. The governor knew that what he did was wrong and that was why he had been begging, but we are not interested in begging. Let him do the right thing.”

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The petitioner noted that Obaseki had on June 17, 2019 “clandestinely issued a proclamation for the Edo State House of Assembly, EDHA, for the first session of the House for the parliament commencing June 2019, with the aim of unlawfully excluding 14 elected members of the House from participating in the process leading to the election of principal officers for the House in which the Governor, Deputy Governor and Secretary to the Government of Edo State jointly have a preference for their candidates as against the wishes of the majority of elected members of the House.”

He, therefore, requested the CCB to note that “the Governor of Edo State and the others mentioned above have jointly and severally abused their offices by engaging in an arbitrary act of unlawfully excluding 14 elected members of the House from participating in the first session of the House of Assembly of the state held on June 17, 2019 by the governor’s act of clandestinely issuing a proclamation without notice to 14 elected members of the House  and the general public in Edo State, an act which is prejudicial to the rights of any other person knowing that such act is unlawful act and contrary to government policy.

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