By Samuel Oyadongha
YENAGOA—MEMBERS of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, yesterday, reconvened and passed a resolution asking the state Chief Judge, Justice Kate Abiri, to institute a seven-man panel to investigate allegations listed against the Deputy Governor, Mr. Peremobowei Ebebi.

The House had resolved, last week, to serve the embattled Deputy Governor a notice of impeachment but Mr. Ebebi told Vanguard in a telephone chat, Monday, that he had not been served the notice.

The House had unanimously adopted a motion moved by Mr. Fini Angaye, representing Kolokuma-Opokuma II, asking the Chief Judge to set up a seven-man panel to probe the allegations listed against the deputy governor.

In moving the motion, Angaye said: “17 members of the State House of Assembly on Tuesday, 1 June, 2010, signed an impeachment notice on the Deputy Governor, and the House ordered it to be served on the Deputy Governor.

“On 3 June, the Clerk of the House delegated his Deputy, Mr. Aaron Timie, to carry out the assignment, and the notice was served on the Deputy Governor in his House in Abuja.

Allegation of gross misconduct

“Pursuant to section 188(3)(4), I move a motion that the Chief Judge should be directed to constitute a seven-member panel to look into the allegation of gross misconduct levelled against the Deputy Governor.”

The motion was seconded by Mr. Alfred Egba representing Yenagoa constituency and the House including the Speaker, Werinipre Seibarugu, unanimously adopted the motion and passed the resolution at the sitting which did not last twenty minutes.

However, the Deputy Governor, told Vanguard, that he had not been served the impeachment notice issued by the state House of Assembly in which 10 allegations were slammed against him even as debunked claims that he was tinkering with the option of resigning.

Ebebi said: “As long as I’m here, I’ve not resigned. If I want to resign I will call a press conference and inform you. I cannot just resign like that. I have not been served and I don’t intend to resign. I will return home next week.”

The Deputy Governor was accused, among other things, of gross misconduct, diversion of N29.6m allowance for oversea medical treatment and snubbing of members of the House of Assembly.

Sylva and Ebebi were first elected in 2007 on the platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP. Following the nullification of their election by the state election petition tribunal, they were re-elected in a re-run poll in May 2008.