By Jane Okafor, Abuja
ABUJA: Former Governor of Ogun State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, has expressed concern over the tendencies of governors to influence or sponsor impeachment of their deputies.
Osoba said governors could leverage on any cordial relationship between them and the state assemblies to influence and engineer the removal of deputy governors, stressing that where an atmosphere of friendship exists between the state lawmakers and the executive, nothing can save the job of a Deputy if the governor decides to exploit the situation.
The elder statesman and veteran journalist made this known on Tuesday in Abuja at the 3rd Annual Conference of the Forum of Former Deputy Governors of Nigeria.
The event, themed “Strategic Solutions for Good Governance, Food Security and Sustainable Growth in Nigeria,” identified issues as some of the governance challenges facing the country.
Fielding question on whether the constitution should be amended to protect deputies from governors who are their superiors in government, the octogenarian said: “Again, you can’t amend the constitution against governors using their influence and powers to impeach their deputies. There is nothing anybody can do about it. If the State House of Assembly is friendly with the governor, he can attempt anything, including impeaching his deputy.
“What we should continue to promote is for leaders to build relationships. It is not by law but through relationship. As they say, you wash your hands with both the left and right—it’s through cooperation.”
