The Oyo Assembly crisis continues, as lawmakers give an ultimatum to the speaker of parliament

Lawmakers in the Ondo State House of Assembly have issued an ultimatum to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Olamide Oladiji, to resign from office or be impeached.

They gave the speaker until Sunday to sign the letter, or be removed from office

Twenty-one of the 26 House members signed a letter of impeachment against the House Speaker for what they said were financial misconduct.

The speaker was accused of diverting N44m from funds allocated for the budget restructuring of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC).

Chairman of the House Information Committee, Olatunji Fabiyi, stated on Wednesday that lawmakers have given the Speaker a few more days to resign, failing which he will be removed at the next plenary session.

He stressed that the governor had intervened in the matter but had let lawmakers carry out their legislative duties.

Fabiyi said, “We have decided that the Speaker must resign. However, based on the wisdom of the DPR leadership, we feel we must meet with the Governor.

“And we have taken the members’ decision to the Governor. Because of what we did before, they criticized us, saying someone was sponsoring us.”

“So, to avoid that, the DPR leadership went to the Governor to say that this is not about him. This is what the Speaker has done, and we don’t want him anymore. He is the one who led us, and we don’t want him to lead us anymore.”

“Twenty-one members have signed their removal. But at the discretion of the DPR leadership, so as not to give the impression that we are striking too quickly, we met with the Governor.

“The Governor asked for time. On this issue, we have no problem with the Governor. This is about the OSOPADEC budget. There was a resolution written in the name of the members without our knowledge. It was stated that the members had sat down and agreed to it, that was our resolution, even though it was not. We have no problem with that.”

“This is a criminal offence. You can’t shave our hair in the back. That’s what we’re fighting for.

“So, if someone is protecting him, it means that person is aiding and abetting. We’re giving him until Sunday. If he doesn’t resign, we’ll fire him.”

A DPR spokesperson said parliament members would reconvene at the next plenary session to decide the fate of the DPR Speaker.

When contacted, the embattled spokesman denied the allegations, and said he was unaware of any impeachment notice.