By Kehinde Okeowo
In what appears to be a repeat of what happened to his predecessor, Elliot Spitzer, who resigned from his position as governor of New York in 2008 due to his complicity in a sexual scandal. Cuomo has followed a similar path.
The New York Times had reported that Spitzer patronized a prostitution ring run by an escort service known as Emperors Club VIP and investigation into the matter nailed him.
The current governor of New York state, Andrew Cuomo, who succeeded Splitzer, has also resigned after several months of accusation from eleven women, for sexual harassment and indecent behaviour. On August 10, Cuomo bowed to pressure and resigned as the governor of the state.
In a monitored speech on CNN, the embattled governor accepted he might have acted inappropriately around the women, but he never went out to assault them knowingly as being alleged, he said.
His resignation is coming after New York Attorney-General, Letitia James, released a report on the investigation into the sexual harassment allegations levelled against the governor which indicted him.
Cuomo, in his resignation speech, said his exit from the office will take effect in 14 day’s time and the Lieutenant Governor of the state, Kathy Hochul, is expected to take over. This means for the first time in the history of the state, a woman will be leading the state as its governor.
It is yet to be seen, if the state legislature will continue with impeachment proceedings against him after his resignation or if the state Justice Department will bring criminal charges against the governor.
