Crisis rocks Ondo Assembly over alleged N9.2B OSOPADEC budget padding

The crisis rocking the Ondo State House of Assembly on Monday deepened as lawmakers calling for the removal of Speaker, Rt (Hon.) Olamide Oladiji insisted that the impeachment process against him would continue despite alleged intervention by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa. The aggrieved lawmakers also declared an indefinite boycott of plenary sessions, insisting they will not return until Oladiji resigns his position as the Speaker of the Assembly. The crisis stems from allegations that Oladiji altered the structure of the N9.2 billion OSOPADEC budget without legislative approval and his action has sparked outrage among the majority of lawmakers. Addressing journalists, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Olatunji Fabiyi, Hon. Olatunji Fabiyi said a total of 21 out the 26 members signed a resolution seeking the speaker’s removal amid allegations of single-handedly reordering the OSOPADEC 2025 budget without the approval of the House. Fabiyi, representing Odigbo constituency I, in the parliament house, explained that the decision to change the leadership of the House remained unchanged, warning that the speaker would be impeached if he refuses to step down. “We have resolved not to hold a plenary until there is a change of speaker. For now, there is no development except that Mr Speaker (Oladiji) should just give way and allow another person to preside over the Ondo State House of Assembly,” he said. According to him, If the embattled State Assembly Speaker refused to resigned his position, the lawmakers are ready to impeached him from office. “We will impeach him. If he fails to do the needful,” Hon. Fabiyi added. The lawmaker also alleged that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa had been reaching out to some of his colleagues to withdraw their support for the impeachment move against the Speaker. He argued that the matter was strictly within the constitutional powers of the legislature, questioning the governor’s alleged interference in the scandal that is rocking the Assembly. “I have the opinion that the governor is calling some members that they should backpedal on the issue of impeachment but it is exclusively a private affair of the House. It’s not an executive affair,” Fabiyi said. Hon. Fabiyi revealed that the lawmakers had ‘no disagreement’ with the governor but were only demanding a change of the leadership of the crisis rocking Ondo Assembly. While noting that the executive arm of the government has no business in the affairs of the Assembly, Fabiyi further maintained the actions of the lawmakers were not targeted at Aiyedatiwa. “We have made it very clear to Mr Governor that we don’t have anything against him other than we don’t want our leadership. “In fact, there is no reason why somebody should continue to perpetrate himself over us when we don’t want him again,” he said. Related News No plenary till he resigns, Ondo lawmakers insist on Speaker’s removal IGP orders probe as police officers face trial over viral stop-and-search video 2027: Tinubu will record landslide victory in Ondo, says Oke The Nation report that the move by the aggrieved lawmakers to remove Oladiji also followed an earlier allegations surrounding the mismanagement of the sum of N44 million reportedly released to the Assembly by the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC). The lawmakers had accused the Speaker and his Deputy, Hon. Ololade Gbegudu of failing to carry other members along in the handling of the funds. Although Oladiji, who represents Ondo East Constituency, has dismissed the allegation as false and fabricated. The controversy has heightened tension within the Assembly, with reports suggesting that the positions of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker Ololade Gbegudu and Clerk of the House, Benjamin Jaiyeola, may be affected. Recall a female lawmaker in the House of Assembly, Olawumi Fayemi-Obayelu, had levelled allegations against Oladiji, accusing the speaker of forging a legislative resolution allegedly used to alter the 2025 budget of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC). Fayemi-Obayelu, who is representing Ilaje Constituency II, also stated that she and the other member representing the Ilaje constituencies were deliberately excluded from an ad hoc committee constituted to consider the commission’s budget, despite serving as the Vice Chairman of the House Committee on OSOPADEC. She described the development as a serious breach of legislative procedure, calling for an independent investigation into the alleged forgery involving budgetary adjustments running into billions of Naira. Fayemi-Obayelu, who is now alleging a threat of her life for exposing the scandal and financial racketeering in the House of Assembly, said the controversy had lingered for several months before she decided to make the allegations public. Meanwhile, an aide to the governor has dismissed allegations that Governor Aiyedatiwa is interfering in the crisis in Assembly. Read Also: REA, SAPZ sign power pact to boost agro-industrial processing, rural economy The aide, who spoke under the condition, declared that the governor was only committed to the maintenance of peace, law and order in the state. “The governor has absolutely nothing to do with whatever is happening in the House of Assembly. He has not prevented any member from carrying out his or her constitutional and legislative responsibilities. “The governor’s interest is to ensure peace, law and order prevail across the state. He is not stopping lawmakers from performing any of their legitimate constitutional duties. “The House of Assembly is an independent arm of government, and its members are at liberty to discharge their responsibilities in line with the provisions of the Constitution and the House Rules,” he said. --> --> TAGS: Olamide Oladiji