Edo Councillors Back Chairman Amid Controversial Suspension

The 10 councilors in Etsako East local government area, led by Speaker Hon. Solomon Oghuma, have denied impeaching the council chairman, Hon (Princess) Benedicta Attoh, saying no amount of intimidation or enticement will persuade them to turn their back on a chairman who prioritises human welfare.

The councillors noted that despite the purported suspension of Edo State’s local government Chairmen, Etsako East is at peace.

They  vowed to resist any external pressure to impeach the chairman, adding  “We want our Chairman to be reinstated so she can continue to serve humanity.”

The councillors, who took turns to speak during a solidarity visit to the chairman at her residence in Okpekpe, warned against truncating democracy in the state.

They assured the chairman of their continuous loyalty and support even as they prayed for her return to the office.

They described her as a mother, a role model, and an effective chairman who has made a difference in the lives of councillors and the general public through her human welfare packages and passionate support for humanity.

“Etsako East has never had a listening Chairman like this before. We are proud to have you as chairman,” they said.

While thanking PDP leaders and the councillors for their solidarity visit, executive chairman of the council, Attoh, expressed gratitude for their unusual display of love. “There is no leader without followers. “A leader is only a leader when they have followers,” she said.

According to her, Etsako East is “one local government council where the councillors, the supervisors, civil servants and others have worked together as a team and one Big family without friction. We never envisaged that a day like this will come but here we are.

“The Governor of Edo State is our father, and the father of everyone in the state, regardless of political affiliation. I have never offended him or done anything wrong.

“As a father of the State we can only appeal to him to allow us continue our service to the masses. We are ready to work with him to achieve his goals and support him as Chairmen. There is indeed no need to cause tension and widen disunity across the State.

“Everyone knows him to be a peaceful person and we have no doubt that he will have a second thought and reinstate the unlawfully suspended Chairmen. God is the only one that has final power and we all look up to the same God for our daily help” she said.