21 Ondo lawmakers move to impeach speaker over alleged misconduct

By Boye Oyeyemi

The leadership crisis rocking the Ondo State House of Assembly intensified on Wednesday as 21 of the 26 lawmakers reportedly renewed their resolve to remove the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji, unless he resigns from office.

The lawmakers accused the speaker of misconduct over the handling of a N44 million allocation released to the assembly by the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, an allegation Oladiji has consistently denied.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Mr Olatunji Fabiyi, said the lawmakers had concluded plans to proceed with the impeachment process if the speaker failed to step down within the stipulated time.

“We have resolved that the Speaker should vacate the office. Twenty-one members have signed in support of his removal, but we decided to brief Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to avoid the impression that the action was politically motivated,” Fabiyi said.

He maintained that the dispute was not directed at the governor, alleging that a resolution concerning the OSOPADEC budget was prepared and presented in the names of lawmakers without their consent.

“If the speaker refuses to resign, we will invoke the constitutional process to remove him. We cannot accept a situation where decisions are taken in our names without our knowledge,” Fabiyi added.

Responding to the allegations, the speaker dismissed the claims, describing reports of an impending impeachment and his alleged resignation as false and politically motivated.

In a statement issued by his office, Oladiji insisted there was no leadership crisis in the 10th Ondo State House of Assembly, stressing that the allegations surrounding the N44 million OSOPADEC fund and the impeachment plot were fabricated to destabilise the legislature and heat up the state’s political atmosphere.