There appears to be no immediate end to the leadership crisis rocking the Ondo State House of Assembly as lawmakers pushing for the removal of the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon.Olamide Oladiji, accused the state governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, of frustrating the move by allegedly persuading lawmakers to abandon the impeachment.
The lawmakers pushing for the impeachment of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Olamide Oladiji, over the alleged diversion of N44m meant for the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), insisted there is “no going back” on the process.
This is just as the lawmakers, challenged Aiyedatiwa to come out clean on the matter, maintaining that the Speaker had lost the confidence of the majority of members of the House and that his removal had become inevitable.
The spokesperson of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Olatunji Fabiyi, said all the lawmakers had signed the impeachment notice against Oladiji, stressing that the decision was the collective resolution of the House.
Fabiyi said the lawmakers had already informed governor Aiyedatiwa of their decision, stressing that the impeachment move was purely an internal affair of the House of Assembly.
He however, questioned the governor’s interest in retaining the Speaker, alleging that some lawmakers had been approached by government officials and pressured to withdraw their support for the impeachment process.
He said “There is no going back. That is the resolution of members. We have nothing against the governor, but we don’t want our present leadership again.There is no reason why somebody should continue to impose himself on us when we don’t want him again,”
“I have the opinion that the government is calling some members to backpedal on the issue of impeachment. I don’t know the special interest the governor has. If there is no hidden agenda, I see no reason why he should be protecting the Speaker.
“So I don’t know the special interest that the governor is having. At least 21 members have signed the impeachment against Mr. Speaker.
To me, I don’t know the interest of Mr. governor. Unless if the government is telling us that they have anything or something in common.
“Perhaps the governor has reasons best known to him for supporting the Speaker. Otherwise, I see no reason or justification for his intervention.
Both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker committed the error that led to this situation. There is no going back on the impeachment; it is the collective resolution of the members.
“I see no reason why anyone should still be backing the Speaker at this stage. We have met with the governor and made it clear that we have nothing against him. Our concern is simply that we no longer have confidence in the present leadership of the House.
“There is no reason why someone should continue to impose a leadership on us when we have made it clear that we no longer want it. It is as simple as that.”
The lawmaker further accused the governor of preventing the House from carrying out its constitutional responsibilities.
Asked if the governor was stopping lawmakers from performing their duties, he replied, “Definitely” saying that the governor has requested for seven more days.
On the next line of action, Fabiyi said lawmakers would allow the 14-day period requested by the governor to lapse before taking further steps.
“Initially, we thought it was seven days, but it became clear that the governor requested 14 days. The 14 days will expire next Sunday. After that, members will take the next constitutional step,” he said.
He maintained that the Speaker had already lost the confidence of the House and should resign voluntarily to protect his political future.
“We met with the Speaker and told him categorically that he was no longer enjoying the confidence of members.
“We advised him to resign voluntarily so that it would not have a negative impact on his political future, but it is the collective resolution of the House that he should go,”
He insisted that allowing the Speaker to step aside would restore peace to the Assembly and said, “It is the statutory right of House members. The governor should allow peace to reign in the House by allowing the Speaker to step aside,”
The spokesperson for the lawmakers, Fabiyi, however, said the aggrieved members had resolved to suspend the plenary until a new Speaker is elected.
According to him, the lawmakers would not return to legislative business until there was a change in the leadership of the House.
“We have resolved not to hold plenary until there is a change of Speaker. For now, there is no development except that the Speaker should step aside and allow another member to preside over the Ondo State House of Assembly. If he doesn’t resign, we will impeach him. If he fails to do the needful, we will do the needful.” Fabiyi said
The Speaker, Oladiji, is facing impeachment after 21 of the 26 lawmakers signed a notice seeking his removal over allegations of financial mismanagement.
The lawmakers accused the Speaker of failing to carry members along in the disbursement of an alleged N44 million released for the reordering of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) 2026 budget.