Impeachment: Why I slumped –Enugu Deputy Gov

Says Chime also runs poultry in Govt House

Enugu Deputy Gover­nor, Sunday Onye­buchi, who slumped last week during a session of the impeachment panel, returned yesterday. He told reporters that he had been sick and was taking medication before appearing before the panel on that day.

Onyebuchi said midway into his evidence, he started feeling dizzy and demanded water.

“The water was brought and I took it. I told the panel members that I wouldn’t continue, that I was not fit enough. I was rushed out of the court. They took me to a doctor, who confirmed that I had low blood pressure and reported this to the panel, but was turned down.

“Surprisingly, the panel in­sisted that I should be brought back the same day at 2 p.m. This made my lawyers to come back at 2 p.m. and presented the doctor’s report and said I would not be fit till this week. My lawyer urged the panel to adjourn till Monday, but the panel insisted that I should be brought back at 9 a.m. the next day, in spite of the report from the medical doctor.

“My lawyers came the next day and insisted that I was not fit enough to come and it was at that juncture that the panel insisted that a doctor from the ESUT Teaching Hospi­tal should see me to confirm whether what the other doctor wrote was okay.

“The female doctor from ESUT Teaching Hospital came and I submitted myself, she examined me and I believe she did a report and till now the panel has not made the report available, but I believe that I am fit enough to stand trial and that is why I came,” the em­battled deputy governor said.

Onyebuchi, who resumed his testimony at the panel headed by Mr. Uche Franklyn Oraekeiyi, provided copies of the state government budgets for 2011 to 2014 to back his claims that Governor Sullivan Chime also operated poultry and piggery farms at the Gov­ernment House.

He told the panel that sev­eral millions of naira allocated for the maintenance of the farms by the government was also released, insisting that he had not committed any of­fence that could warrant his impeachment.

The House of Assembly had on July 22 commenced impeachment proceedings against the deputy governor for allegedly operating a poul­try farm at his official resi­dence, flagrant disobedience to directives of the governor including refusal to represent him at the flag-off of the Sec­ond Niger Bridge by President Goodluck Jonathan at Onitsha in March this year and his re­fusal to represent Chime at the July 6 meeting of South-East governors held in Enugu.

Onyebuchi told reporters: “I have always said that this is a straight forward matter. One is the allegation of operating a poultry farm. We have been able to put the message across that the House of Assembly resolution is not a law and the resolution was not made avail­able to me.”