Impeachment Process Against Ondo Speaker Ongoing – Spokesperson Reveals

The crisis rocking the Ondo State House of Assembly has deepened, with the Assembly spokesperson, Olatunji Ifabiyi, insisting that moves to impeach the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, are still ongoing.

Ifabiyi, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview on Thursday, dismissed reports that the lawmakers had abandoned the impeachment process.

He described such reports as misinformation, maintaining that the lawmakers remained determined to remove Oladiji as Speaker.

“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.

“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.

However, Oladiji rejected the claim, saying there was no impeachment process against him because the issues that triggered the disagreement among the lawmakers had been resolved.

The Speaker said the intervention of Governor Aiyedatiwa and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had helped settle the matter.

“There is nothing like an impeachment process because the issues have been resolved. There is no impeachment.

“Mr Governor and other leaders of the party have intervened, and today we are expected to hold our parliamentary meeting,” Oladiji said.

He also addressed an earlier incident at the Assembly complex involving three youth leaders who were reportedly questioned by some lawmakers over their presence on the premises.

According to Oladiji, the youths had visited the Assembly to collect recruitment forms and had previously visited the complex.

He said he intervened after some lawmakers questioned their presence, explaining that the visitors were his guests.

“I came out of my office and explained to the members that they were my guests and had visited the Assembly on previous occasions.

“They did not harass anyone, but some members insisted they should leave.

“We were able to resolve the matter, and there was nothing like an impeachment notice or impeachment process,” the Speaker said.

The conflicting positions from the Assembly spokesperson and the Speaker leave the status of the alleged impeachment move unclear, despite reported efforts by the governor and party leaders to broker peace among the lawmakers.