Plan to impeach Deputy Governor underway…
By Ola Kay
The deputy governor of Bayelsa State, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has disagreed with hisprincipal , governor Douye Diri over his defection to the All Progressives Congress,.APC.
It was gathered that Ewhrudjakpo and some other stunch members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), maintain their ground that the opposition party remains formidable in the state and across the country.
The party stalwarts insisted that there was no reason to abandon the PDP which helped them I to the limelight politically.
A party source in an interview with Daily Post was quoted as saying that, “The Deputy Governor, Ewhrudjakpo, and one of our leaders, Seriake Dickson, including other former lawmakers in our party, are still with the PDP, we’re going nowhere.”
Governor Diri announced his resignation from the PDP on Wednesday through his spokesman, Daniel Alabrah, without making known reasons for his defection to the APC. Although, Diri is not the only state governor who just decamped, the gale of defection has continued to spread among opposition PDP governors, thereby further weakening what remains of the party.
The Pinnacle Times learned through party insiders that Ewhrudjakpo openly refused to attend the State Executive Council meeting where the governor jad announced his defection to the APC. The deputy governor’s direct refusal to show up at the SEC meeting is an indication of his refusal to defect with the governor.
“Earlier this morning, Diri presided over the SEC meeting, but the deputy governor refused to attend. He didn’t attend because he’s not defecting alongside the governor,” according to one of the insiders.
And as a form of sanction for disloyalty, sources within the Bayelsa State House of Assembly revealed that lawmakers who defected with Diri are planning impeachment proceedings against Ewhrudjakpo for his refusal to jump ship alongside his principal.
The sources claimed that the deputy governor’s refusal would be described as “gross misconduct” and an impeachable offence.
Governor Diri and the deputy, Ewhrudjakpo were elected on a joint PDP ticket in 2019 and re-elected in 2023.
Pundits believe that, though the deputy governor’ acted on a principled ground, it is not unlikely that his singular action will unsettle the state politically in days to come, even against the backdrop of his clout, being a lawyer and former senator for Bayelsa West, has long been a prominent figure in the PDP, among other influence he has garnered over the years.
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