- Allegation of gross misconduct, trumped up charge – Madumere
George Onyejiuwa and Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Imo State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere, may lose his post if the impeachment proceedings commenced by the House of Assembly yesterday is concluded.
The House, during plenary, had accused Madumere of gross misconduct and dereliction of duty.
In a petition submitted by the Deputy Speaker, Nnanna Ozuruigbo and signed by 13 of the 27 members of the House, Madumere was accused of abandoning his office for more than three months without permission.
Besides his alleged absconding from office, he was also accused of refusing to carry out official duties assigned to him by the governor.
Other allegations are refusal to attend State Executive Council meetings, refusal to hold meetings with the governor and commissioners and imprisonment for theft in the United States of America.
Madumere has been having a running battle with his boss, Governor Rochas Okorocha, over his governorship ambition, which saw him aligning with other politicians against the governor.
Calling for the presentation of the petition, the Speaker of the House, Acho Ihim, said the petition has met and surpassed the required one-third as provided in Section 188 (2) 11 of the 1999 Constitution.
The House is made up of 27 members, but, four members were earlier suspended for “unpaliamentary conduct.”
The House, thereafter, set up a six-man committee, headed by Kennedy Ibe, member representing Obowo Local Government Area, to probe the allegations and report to the House within seven days.
Meanwhile, Madumere has dismissed the allegations of abandonment of his office and constitutional duties, as well as concealment of felonious conduct affecting the presentation of self as eligible candidate for the Office of Deputy Governor, Imo State, having been convicted and imprisoned for theft in the United States of America, as false and a trumped up charge by Governor Rochas Okorocha, for his vehement opposition to the choice of his son- in-law as his successor.
The deputy governor said he is constitutionally saddled with the responsibilities of superintending Boundary Commission for which he has been attending to both within and outside the state.
A statement, yesterday, by Senior Special Assistant (Media) to Madumere said the office of the Deputy Governor of Imo State has received the notice of gross misconduct circulating round the state and being shared on various platforms on the social media, signed by 13 members of the State House of Assembly. The statment alleged that the impeachment plot was orchestrated by the governor, to forcefully remove the deputy governor from office for being the brain behind the coalition alliance.
The statement read in part: “The first claim of absence is rather an old ploy of ‘calling a dog a bad name to hang it’.
Fortunately, the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Prince Eze Madumere, is an administrator per excellence, who does not joke with his duties, especially his constitutional responsibilities.
As such, he has never absconded from office during the period so claimed. He is constitutionally saddled with the responsibilities of superintending boundary commission.