Ondo State Home of Assembly.
…lt’s all about 2027, matter will quickly be settled
…He should go- 21 aggrieved lawmakers insist
By Dayo Johnson Akure
The Speaker of the Ondo State Home of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji, has attributed the transfer by 21 lawmakers in search of his elimination to political calculations forward of the 2027 elections.
Oladiji broke his silence on Wednesday amid requires his resignation or impeachment over allegations of monetary misconduct involving about ₦44 million linked to the reordering of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Growth Fee (OSOPADEC) finances.
In response to him, the agitation towards his management is politically motivated.
“They don’t want me to return again as Speaker in 2027. That’s the main problem,” Oladiji mentioned.
“We’re all politicians and we all know these complaints they’re elevating. Have they been making these complaints over the previous three years? Why now, through the electioneering interval?”
Twenty-one of many 26 members of the Assembly have demanded the Speaker’s resignation or impeachment.
The lawmakers accused Oladiji of approving a Home decision on the OSOPADEC finances reordering with out the Assembly’s approval and of presiding over rare legislative sittings.
They alleged that solely 4 plenary periods had been held previously seven months, a state of affairs they mentioned had slowed legislative actions.
The aggrieved lawmakers additionally maintained that they’d not resume plenary till the Speaker steps down, regardless of a number of conferences with Governor Fortunate Aiyedatiwa and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) within the state.
Governor Aiyedatiwa, who’s believed to be sympathetic to the Speaker, has reportedly appealed to the lawmakers to permit time for efforts to resolve the disaster.
Expressing confidence that the dispute would quickly be resolved, Oladiji mentioned the matter was being dealt with by inner occasion mechanisms.
“Now we have the chief of the occasion within the APC, and they’re making an attempt to intervene. Now we have a means of settling our points,” he mentioned.
“Now we have been attending a collection of conferences and, by the grace of God, in one other one week, it should change into a factor of the previous.”
Nonetheless, the Chairman of the Home Committee on Data and Assembly spokesperson, Hon. Olatunji Fabiyi, rejected the Speaker’s declare that the disaster was linked to the 2027 elections.
Fabiyi mentioned the lawmakers’ grievances have been primarily based on allegations of misconduct and abuse of workplace.
“He claimed a few of us didn’t get return tickets, however we’ve been observing his actions for a very long time,” Fabiyi mentioned.
“The difficulty just isn’t about tickets. The query is whether or not the Speaker ought to unilaterally problem a decision claiming the Home accredited the OSOPADEC finances reordering with out the Assembly’s approval.”
He insisted that the lawmakers remained united of their demand for the Speaker’s elimination.
“Our decision nonetheless stands: he should go. Anybody supporting him at this stage ought to clarify why. Whoever is backing him is an confederate,” Fabiyi mentioned.
