A socio-cultural organisation, Egbe Omo Ilaje Worldwide, yesterday, made an appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the leadership of Afenifere, as well as traditional rulers to urgently intervene in the political crisis in Ondo State, particularly the impeachment proceedings against the embattled Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

According to the group, the ongoing political crisis in the state has been escalating since the House of Assembly initiated the impeachment process against Aiyedatiwa.

In a communiqué made available to The Guardian after a meeting yesterday, the group expressed dismay at the dimension the crisis has taken. The Secretary General of the group, Edamisan Ogunfeyijimi, emphasised that the intervention of Tinubu, the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other stakeholders was crucial in dousing the growing tension in the state.

Ogunfeyijimi said the organisation condemned, in strong terms, the prevention of Aiyedatiwa from having access to his principal, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, since his return from medical vacation.

The group urged the two representatives of the area at the Assembly, Prince Abayomi Akinruntan, representing Ilaje Constituency 1, and Hon. Olawumi Obayelu-Fayemi, representing Ilaje Constituency II, to dissociate themselves from the impeachment plot.

The communiqué read in part: “The National Executive Council (NEC) and the good people of Ilaje Nation call on the state and national leadership of the APC and the President, Bola Tinubu, to prevail on the members of the Ondo State House of Assembly to discontinue this ill-conceived and politically motivated impeachment plot against his Excellency, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the deputy governor of Ondo State, to ensure stability in the polity and peaceful coexistence in Ondo State.

“The Deputy Governor of Ondo State and members of the Ondo State House of Assembly should obey and abide by the court orders in respect of the impeachment of the deputy governor to avoid a state of anarchy and breakdown of law and order in the state.”

Ogunfeyijimi urged the Chief Judge of the state to also reject any request or directive from the Speaker to set up a panel to investigate Aiyedatiwa in what he called a politically motivated impeachment process, in line with Abuja High Court restraint.

He added that the organisation, being the apex socio-cultural organisation and umbrella body of all clubs and associations in Ilaje, would continue to play a fatherly role for all indigenes of the Ilaje nation, irrespective of any affiliation.