Oyo Deputy Governor’s Impeachment Illegal – Folarin

The 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Senator Teslim Folarin, has described the impeachment of Deputy Governor Rauf Olaniyan by the House of Assembly as unlawful and illegal.

Folarin who noted that the move contradicted respect for rule of law, asked the National Judicial Council (NJC) to sanction the Chief Judge, Justice Muntar Abimbola, for breaching oath of his office by ignoring service of notice of appeal and application for injunction pending appeal when he proceeded to constitute an investigation committee that investigated Olaniyan.

He said the committee set up by the chief judge to investigate the deputy governor lacked integrity, adding that APC would not relent in providing alternatives to unruly and undemocratic acts of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration in the state.

He, however, said the “illegal impeachment” did not stop the Court of Appeal and by extension the Supreme Court from doing their job in days to come.

Also commenting on the development, Olaniyan’s counsel, Chief Afolabi Fashanu, accused Justice Abimbola of breaching his oath of office by ignoring the service of notice of appeal and application for injunction pending appeal when he proceeded to constitute an investigation committee.

Fashanu, who described the committee set up by the CJ as a charade that could not stand the test of time, said the move was against established law and practice.

He also accused members of the panel of being appointed and paid to do what he described as “bodge and botched jobs”, saying the effort was contrary to good conscience.