The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Edo State ahead of the September 21 polls, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, has denied claims that he was part of the masterminds in the impeachment of the former deputy governor, Philip Shaibu.
Shaibu was impeached by the state House of Assembly on April 8 on allegations of perjury and disclosure of government secrets.
Speaking at a meeting in Ogbonna, the homestead of the PDP vice chairman, South-south, Chief Dan Orbih, over the weekend, Shaibu had fingered Ighodalo as the one that sponsored his impeachment.
Reacting however, Ighodalo who described the allegation as fake, added that the claims was cooked up to tarnish his reputation.
The refutal was contained in a statement released by his media team on Monday and made available to Journalists in Benin City, capital of the state.
The statement read, “While we would not usually join issues in response to every passing comment, it has become imperative to address the recent spurious allegations by former Deputy Governor Phillip Shaibu.
“It is necessary for the record, to state in no uncertain terms, that Dr. Asue Ighodalo has had no role or involvement in any form whatsoever in the very public process leading to Mr. Shuaibu’s impeachment and subsequent removal from office by the Edo State House of Assembly.
“These claims are completely without merit, and Mr. Ighodalo categorically denies any such involvement. These allegations are a clear attempt to unjustly tarnish his reputation and divert attention from the actual issues at hand.”
He, however, called on the public to disregard the claim, saying, “We urge the public and the media to regard these false statements with well-deserved skepticism.”
Ighodalo said he remained focused on running a governorship campaign based on issues and devoid of distractions.
