A fresh crisis has engulfed the Ondo State House of Assembly as 21 lawmakers have issued an ultimatum to the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, to resign over allegations of financial misconduct or face impeachment.
Naijaonpoint reports that the lawmakers, who constitute more than the constitutionally required two-thirds majority of the 26-member Assembly, said they would commence the process of removing the Speaker if he failed to step down within the period given to him.
The Speaker has, however, denied all allegations, insisting they are politically motivated and without merit.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Olatunji Fabiyi, disclosed the lawmakers’ position while addressing journalists in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Wednesday.
According to him, 21 members had already signed an impeachment notice but agreed to allow Oladiji a few days to resign voluntarily before proceeding with the process.
Fabiyi said the House would move to remove the Speaker during the next plenary if he ignored the ultimatum.
He also rejected suggestions that the move was being influenced by the executive arm of government, explaining that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa had only been briefed about the development after the lawmakers reached their decision.
According to him, the governor requested time for the matter to be resolved peacefully.
At the centre of the dispute is an allegation that the Speaker received ₦44 million from the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission on behalf of lawmakers without distributing the money to members.
Fabiyi also alleged that the Speaker approved a resolution relating to the reordering of the OSOPADEC budget without the knowledge or consent of the Assembly members.
“It is about the OSOPADEC budget. A resolution was written in the name of members without our knowledge. It was stated that members had sat down and agreed to it and that it was our resolution, which it was not,” he said.
Describing the action as unlawful, Fabiyi added, “It is a criminal offence. You cannot shave our heads behind our backs. That is what we are fighting for. So, if somebody is protecting him, it means that person is aiding and abetting him.”
Fabiyi maintained that the lawmakers had already agreed on the Speaker’s removal despite the governor’s intervention.
He further stated, “We have resolved that Mr Speaker should go. But in the wisdom of the leadership of the House, we felt we should meet with Mr Governor.
“And we have taken the resolution of the members to Mr Governor because of the one we did before, they were castigating us, saying somebody was sponsoring us.”
Female Lawmaker Alleges Intimidation
The impeachment move follows earlier allegations by the member representing Ilaje Constituency II, Olawumi Fayemi-Obayelu, who claimed her life had been threatened because she demanded an investigation into the alleged ₦44 million scandal.
Fayemi-Obayelu accused the Speaker of attempting to intimidate and silence her over her calls for a probe into the alleged diversion of funds meant for the development of riverine communities in Ilaje Local Government Area.
The allegations have not been established in court. Reacting to the claims, Oladiji dismissed the allegations as false and politically motivated.
He also denied receiving any impeachment notice or presiding over a divided Assembly.
In a statement issued by his office on Tuesday, the Speaker insisted he had no intention of resigning.
The statement read, “We state unequivocally, without an atom of ambiguity, that Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji never contemplated resigning, nor is there any leadership crisis within the 10th Ondo State House of Assembly.
“The report is a total figment of the imagination of its authors and their nameless, cowardly sources. It is false, completely lacks merit, and is sponsored by desperate political detractors aimed at destabilising the legislative arm and heating the polity.”
