Olamide Oladiji, the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, is facing impeachment due to suspected egregious misbehavior, according to members of the assembly.
Twelve of the Assembly’s twenty-six members, who signed the impeachment notice, voted against the troubled Speaker and demanded that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) look into, prosecute, and recover all alleged misappropriated public funds while Oladiji was in charge.
A few days ago, MPs in the Assembly staged a walkout in protest of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s N531 billion supplemental budget, accusing Oladiji of trying to rush the measure through in light of the 2025 budget’s poor performance. This marked the beginning of the crisis.
Jide Oguntodu (Akure South 1), Temitope Akomolafe (Ifedore), Fatai Atere (Akoko North/West 1), Toyin Japhet (Akoko North East), Raymond Daodu (Akoko South West 1), and Samuel Ifabiyi (Odigbo 1) are the lawmakers that signed the notice of impeachment.
Afe Felix (Akoko North/West 2), Babatunde Fasonu (Odigbo 2), Oluwatosin Ogunlowo (Idanre), Nelson Akinsuroju (Ile Oluji/Oke-Igbo), Akinruntan Abayomi (Ilaje 1), and Stephen Abitogun (Akure South 2) are among the others.
The members accused the Speaker of misappropriating the House’s monthly operating grants and diverting N50 million that was supposed to be utilized for holding a public hearing.
The lawmakers claimed that the Speaker’s actions violated both the Seventh Schedule, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which violates the Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance, and paragraph 9, Part I, Fifth Schedule, which prohibits abuse of office by a public official.
Section 390 of the Criminal Code Act (Cap. C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004) addresses theft by a public servant; Section 19 of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 addresses misuse of office to grant corrupt or unfair advantage;
“The aforementioned violations have seriously compromised the institutional integrity and lawful operations of the House and amount to gross misconduct within the meaning ascribed by Section 188(11) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) Constitution (applied by necessary implication),” they asserted.
In response to the revelation, the Speaker’s aide, who yearned for anonymity, called the impeachment threat “a political storm in a teacup,” emphasizing that it is dead on arrival.
