Ondo Assembly Suspends Plenary, Demands Speaker’s Resignation Over Alleged N44m Diversion

The Ondo State House of Assembly has insisted that it will not resume plenary until its Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, resigns over allegations of financial misconduct involving N44 million belonging to the Ondo State Oil-Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC).

The lawmakers had earlier issued the Speaker an ultimatum to resign or face impeachment, following allegations that he diverted funds meant for the reordering of the OSOPADEC budget.

The House Committee Chairman on Information, Olatunji Fabiyi, said the lawmakers had resolved that Oladiji should leave office, adding that 21 of the 26 members of the Assembly had signed an impeachment notice against him.

Fabiyi said the lawmakers had approached Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa over the matter, but stressed that the crisis was an internal affair of the legislature and was not sponsored by the executive.

According to him, the lawmakers became dissatisfied with the Speaker over the handling of the OSOPADEC budget, alleging that a resolution was written in their names without their knowledge or approval.

He described the alleged action as a criminal offence and maintained that the lawmakers were determined to remove Oladiji as Speaker.

Fabiyi said the lawmakers had initially given the Speaker time to resign voluntarily following the governor’s intervention, but would proceed with his removal if he failed to quit.

The lawmakers also accused the Speaker of unilaterally reordering the OSOPADEC budget without carrying other members of the House along.

The development has paralysed legislative activities in the Assembly, with the lawmakers insisting that plenary sitting would not resume until the issue of the Speaker’s leadership was resolved.

The crisis reportedly deepened after a female member of the Assembly, Olawumi Fayemi-Obayelu, representing Ilaje Constituency II, alleged that she had been threatened over her involvement in the investigation of the matter.

Fayemi-Obayelu accused the Speaker of attempting to intimidate her over her probe into the alleged diversion of funds meant for the development of riverine communities in Ilaje Local Government Area.

However, Oladiji has rejected the allegations, describing them as “sensationalised, malicious, and entirely fabricated.”

The Speaker also denied knowledge of any impeachment notice or leadership crisis in the Assembly.