The crisis rocking the Ondo State House of Assembly has deepened, with the Assembly’s spokesperson, Mr Olatunji Ifabiyi, insisting that the impeachment process against the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, remains ongoing.
Ifabiyi, who disclosed this in a telephone interview on Thursday, dismissed reports that lawmakers had abandoned moves to remove the Speaker, describing such reports as misinformation.
According to him, despite ongoing reconciliation efforts involving Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and some lawmakers, the Assembly has not withdrawn its plan to impeach Oladiji.
“We have been hearing reports that we have stopped the process; that is not correct. It is misinformation. We are still on it. He cannot continue as our Speaker.”
The Assembly spokesperson added that the governor’s intervention had not halted the impeachment process, insisting that the lawmakers remained determined to proceed.
“Although Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa has been speaking with some of us, that does not stop the impeachment process. There is no going back,” Ifabiyi said.
Speaker Denies Impeachment Move
Reacting to the claim, however, Speaker Olamide Oladiji dismissed reports of an impeachment process against him, saying the disagreements that triggered the crisis had been resolved following interventions by Governor Aiyedatiwa and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“There is nothing like an impeachment process because the issues have been resolved. There is no impeachment,” Oladiji said in a statement.
The Speaker said the intervention by the governor and other party leaders had helped resolve the crisis, adding that lawmakers were expected to hold their parliamentary meeting.
“Mr Governor and other leaders of the party have intervened, and today we are expected to hold our parliamentary meeting,” he said.
Disagreement Over Visitors
Oladiji also addressed an earlier disagreement involving three youth leaders who were seen at the Assembly complex on Thursday.
According to him, the individuals had visited the Assembly to collect recruitment forms, but some lawmakers questioned their presence on the premises.
“I came out of my office and explained to the members that they were my guests and had visited the Assembly on previous occasions,” the Speaker said.
He explained that the visitors did not harass anyone, although some lawmakers insisted that they should leave the premises.
Oladiji said the disagreement was eventually resolved and maintained that there was no impeachment notice or formal impeachment process against him.
The conflicting positions of the Assembly spokesperson and the Speaker have, however, heightened uncertainty over the political situation within the Ondo State legislature, even as reconciliation efforts continue.
While Ifabiyi insists that lawmakers are proceeding with the impeachment plan, Oladiji maintains that the crisis has been resolved and that no impeachment process exists.
