•Lawmaker opens more can of worm

THE leadership crisis rocking the Ondo State House of Assembly has deepened, with Speaker, Rt. Honourable Olamide Oladiji, reportedly intensifying efforts to fend off an impeachment move by lawmakers seeking his removal from office.

The Speaker is under pressure after majority of the 26-member assembly reportedly endorsed moves to impeach him over allegations of financial misconduct involving about ₦44 million allegedly linked to the reordering of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) budget.

Despite reports that no fewer than 21 of the 26 lawmakers have endorsed the impeachment notice, the Speaker is reportedly engaging in last-minute consultations with political stakeholders and other influential figures in and outside the state in a bid to retain his position.

Sources within the Assembly disclosed that the crisis has triggered intense lobbying, with efforts underway to reconcile aggrieved lawmakers before the House reconvenes, even as the lawmakers are said to have given the Speaker until Sunday (yesterday) to resign or face impeachment.

Sources also said Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has been holding consultations to defuse the crisis, but lawmakers backing the impeachment move are said to have remained firm in their resolve to remove the Speaker.

The lawmakers have reportedly insisted that the impeachment move is an internal legislative affair and not influenced by the executive arm of government.

However, allies of the Speaker have dismissed reports suggesting that his removal is imminent, insisting that he has not resigned and, therefore, remains in office.

The crisis escalated after Honourable Olawumi Fayemi-Obayelu, who represents Ilaje Constituency II, levelled a series of allegations against the Speaker, accusing him of undermining legislative procedures, interfering with oversight functions and overseeing irregularities in the handling of OSOPADEC matters.

Fayemi-Obayelu has alleged that a House resolution relied upon in relation to the OSOPADEC budget was forged, insisting that lawmakers never sat on the date the document purportedly claimed the Assembly deliberated and approved adjustments to the commission’s budget.

She said the controversy dated back several months and centered on the assembly’s consideration of the OSOPADEC 2025 budget.

According to her, despite serving as the Vice Chairman of the House Committee on OSOPADEC, she and the other lawmaker representing Ilaje constituencies were excluded from an ad hoc committee constituted to consider the budget.

Fayemi-Obayelu further alleged that tensions escalated after the House Committee on OSOPADEC commenced an investigation into the commission’s activities through public hearings and invitations to its officials.

She claimed some individuals attempted to influence the committee’s investigation with financial inducements and called for an independent probe by anti-corruption agencies.

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One of her major allegations concerns a House resolution she claimed was used to approve adjustments to the OSOPADEC budget, saying the document indicated that the Assembly met, deliberated and approved changes to several budget line items.

She, however, maintained that no parliamentary sitting took place on the date reflected in the resolution.

She argued that attendance records, parliamentary proceedings and other official legislative documents would show that several lawmakers were attending engagements elsewhere across the state on the day in question, making it impossible for the House to have conducted the sitting.

The lawmaker said the disputed resolution had far-reaching implications because it allegedly involved adjustments to budgetary allocations running into billions of naira.

She called for investigators to examine all documents connected with the alleged adjustments, including parliamentary records, official correspondence and budget implementation documents, to establish whether due process was followed.

Fayemi-Obayelu said dissatisfaction among lawmakers eventually culminated in moves to seek a change in the Assembly’s leadership.

According to her, a majority of members endorsed a document expressing loss of confidence in the Speaker over what she described as repeated violations of legislative procedures and the handling of the OSOPADEC matter.

She claimed that before any public action was taken; the aggrieved lawmakers met Aiyedatiwa and presented their grievances, supporting documents and signatures.

Calling for an independent investigation, the lawmaker urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant security agencies to investigate the allegations surrounding the disputed House resolution, the handling of the OSOPADEC budget and related issues.

When contacted, the embattled speaker denied the allegations, saying he was not aware of any impeachment notice and said his office had issued a statement over the allegations

‎The statement titled ‘Re: Fabricated resignation rumours and baseless N44M OSOPADEC allegations: a disservice to truth and an insult to logic, read: “The attention of the Office of the Speaker, Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji, has been drawn to a sensationalized, malicious, and entirely fabricated report, alleging an ongoing leadership crisis, an impending impeachment threat, and a contemplated resignation over an alleged N44 million OSOPADEC fund‎

“We state unequivocally, without an atom of ambiguity, that Rt. Honourable Olamide Oladiji never contemplated resigning, nor is there any leadership crisis within the 10th Ondo State House of Assembly,” he said.

“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 up the polity.

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‎”Given that the sponsors of this rumor failed to present valid evidence, the premise of this fake news is not only absurd but also an insult to the intelligence of the reading public.

“To further expose the malicious intent of these anonymous “sources”, we wish to clarify the internal financial procedures of the Assembly.