Lawmakers say signatures forged to impeach speaker

Two members of the Ondo State House of Assembly Monday said their signatures were forged to facilitate the impeachment of the former speaker of the House and his deputy.

The speaker Bamidele Oloyelogun and his deputy Iroju Ogundeji were removed from their positions on Friday and were replaced by Olamide George and Abimbola Fojolu.

But Sunday Olajide and Olusola Oluyede, whose signatures appeared on the notice of impeachment said they were not aware of the impeachment.

The two lawmakers said this at the floor of the House during a plenary yesterday attended by nine out of 26 lawmakers and presided over by the embattled speaker Oloyelogun and his deputy Ogundeji.

Olajide, representing Akure South Constituency II and his counterpart, Oluyede from Ose Constituency, said they were not in the state when the purported impeachment was carried out.

Olajide, who is the chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, said he was neither informed nor briefed on the move by his colleagues, revealing that a friend informed him on phone.

He said that it was criminal for anyone to forge his signature without his consent, emphasizing that he was not part of any meeting and did not participate in the impeachment.

Similarly, Oluyede claimed he was not part of the attempted impeachment, adding that he was shocked to find his name and signature on the notice.

“I am not part of it and cannot be part of it,” he said.

He, however, explained that his name and signature, which were on the notice list, were the old ones used to impeach the Deputy Speaker some few months ago, revealing that they were “doctored” to suit the purpose illegally.