Ondo lawmakers maintain on plan to displace Speaker Oladiji

Aggrieved lawmakers of the Ondo State House of Assembly have insisted that they will not back down from their move to remove the embattled Speaker, Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji.

The lawmakers said Oladiji remained in office because the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state intervened in the crisis rocking the Assembly.

Oladiji is facing impeachment threats over allegations of mismanaging N44 million released by the Ondo State Oil-Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC).

The Speaker, however, has described the campaign against him as politically motivated, rather than being driven by genuine concerns about his leadership of the Assembly.

The crisis reportedly followed the endorsement of an impeachment notice by 21 of the 26 lawmakers in the Assembly.

The lawmakers accused Oladiji of mishandling funds meant for the reordering of the OSOPADEC 2026 budget.

The lawmakers, who spoke on Wednesday during their parliamentary sitting after a prolonged months without sitting, said the impeachment plot of the embattled Speaker is still on course. 

Addressing reporters shortly after their sitting, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Hon. Olatunji Ifabiyi revealed that the lawmakers were only awaiting the direct of the leadership of the APC if is to proceed with the plan. 

Ifabiyi said that it was important for the leader of the party in the state, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to urgently intervene and mediate over the ongoing crisis in the state parliamentary house. 

“We are still waiting for the leadership of the party. We are unable to proceed further until the leadership of the party asks us to proceed. So it is pending. We are still on course,” he said. 

According to him, the executive arm of the government has no business in the issues of legislature but since all 26 lawmakers in the Assembly belongs to the APC, it was important to resolved the crisis. 

He noted that the ruling party has been a platform for all members to unite and come together ro resolve all internal crisis without favouring any individual.

“It is normal for the party to intervene because we are all members of the same family. The APC has total control of the Ondo State House of Assembly,” the lawmaker said. 

Fabiyi added, “Our father should call all his sons together to discuss whatever crisis has arisen so that it can be resolved. But our father will not prefer one person at the expense of the other 26 members.

“It is our party, and the fact remains that we want to change the kind of leadership we currently have. There is no opposition among us; we all belong to the same political party. Our father will not prefer one person at the expense of 26 members. Our father will not do that.”