By Chinedu Echianu
The crisis rocking the Ondo State House of Assembly has deepened, with 21 of the 26 lawmakers signing an impeachment notice against the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, over alleged financial misconduct.
Reports say the lawmakers have given the Speaker until Sunday to resign or face removal from office at the next plenary sitting.
The lawmakers accused Oladiji of allegedly diverting N44 million from funds allocated for the reordering of the budget of the Ondo State Oil-Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC).
Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Olatunji Fabiyi, disclosed this while speaking on the development, saying the lawmakers had resolved that the Speaker should leave office.
Fabiyi said the leadership of the House had also met with Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to inform him of the lawmakers’ position and to dispel allegations that the move against the Speaker was politically motivated.
He said, “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 the one we did before, they were castigating us, saying somebody was sponsoring us.
“So, to avoid that, the leadership of the House went to Mr Governor to tell him that this one is not about him. This is what Mr Speaker has done, and we don’t want him anymore. He is the one leading us, and we don’t want him to lead us again.”
According to Fabiyi, 21 lawmakers have signed the impeachment notice, but the process was delayed following the intervention of the governor.
He said the lawmakers’ grievance centred on the handling of the OSOPADEC budget, alleging that a resolution was presented in the name of the lawmakers without their knowledge or approval.
“It is a criminal offence. You cannot shave our heads behind our backs. That is what we are fighting for,” he said.
Fabiyi added that the Speaker had until Sunday to resign, warning that failure to do so would trigger his removal from office.
The House spokesman said the lawmakers would reconvene at the next plenary sitting to determine the Speaker’s fate.
Meanwhile, a member of the Assembly, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that the Speaker and his deputy diverted N44 million meant for the reordering of the OSOPADEC budget.
The lawmaker also alleged that the Speaker undertook the budget reordering without consulting other members of the House.
“Yes, we are removing him. We just want him to resign honourably and, if he fails to do so, we will impeach him on the floor of the House. We have initiated an impeachment notice, and 21 members have already signed,” the lawmaker said.
The member added that the impeachment process began about three weeks ago but was delayed due to the governor’s intervention.
“We started the process about three weeks ago, but the governor has been talking to us, which is why we delayed it. But now, the governor has advised him to resign when we met with him. So, we are removing him,” the lawmaker said.
However, the embattled Speaker, when contacted, denied the allegations against him and said he was not aware of any impeachment notice.
