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Nigeria’s first female
governor sworn-in
Virginia Etiaba has been sworn in as Nigeria's first female governor after
Anambra state legislature impeached Peter Obi for gross misconduct.
She had been deputy governor in the south-eastern state and initially
refused to take the position.
Mr Obi said he would not leave office and civil rights groups have
criticised the whole process as unconstitutional.
A BBC correspondent says the battle could get more volatile if supporters of
the two sides take to the streets.
Mr Obi, who has been in office for just seven months, only took power after
a court ruled that his predecessor had rigged the election in 2003.
This is the fifth state to start impeachment proceedings against a governor
this year.
Some said the recent impeachments are part of the fight against corruption.
But critics said it is often more about rival politicians trying to take
charge of the state so they can control the elections due early next year.
Mr Obi, from the opposition All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has only
occupied the post since March this year.
That was after an appeal court rule that the elections in the state in 2003
were rigged by the governing People's Democratic Party.
The PDP's Chris Ngige, who occupied the post of governor illegally for three
years, had fallen out with senior party figures soon after the election.
He said it was because he refused to loot public money to pay them back for
their support.
Since Mr Obi took office in March, he has been locked in a power struggle
with one of the president's closest aides, Andy Uba, who wants to win the
governorship in next year's elections.
Analysts said the impeachment process could only help this ambition.
Meanwhile the embattled national chairman of APGA, Chief Chekwas Okorie, has
congratulated the new governor of Anambra, Lady Virginia Etiaba, over her
new job.
Etiaba emerged as the first female governor in the country after her boss
was removed by some members at dawn sitting in Awka on Wednesday.
Okorie said in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) yesterday in Abuja, that the removal of Dr Peter Obi as the governor
would restore sanity to the party.
The statement, which was signed by the faction’s Director of Publicity, Mr
Orji Okorie, alleged that Obi was responsible for the prolonged intra party
crisis in APGA.
But the group advised her to ‘’speedily broker peace within the party’’ as a
mature mother and grand mother.
‘’It is our fervent hope and expectation that her tenure, no matter how
brief, will provide unprecedented tranquility and development in Anmabra
state,’’ it added.
The party also advised her to complete on going development projects and
restore peace, harmony and hope in the state.
It pledged to cooperate and support Etiba through ‘’members’ experience,
contacts and goodwill’’ to enable her to outshine her female colleagues
holding various positions in the country.
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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4 2006