Ondo Assembly insists on impeachment proceeding against deputy governor

Despite calls and moves to avert a crisis, the Ondo State House of Assembly, yesterday, disclosed that the embattled deputy governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has failed to respond to a notice served on him on September 25, 2023, regarding allegations of gross misconduct.

The Speaker of the House, Olamide Oladiji, revealed this during a plenary session held in the hallowed chamber of the Assembly.

The House, therefore, vowed to continue with the impeachment proceeding.

According to Oladiji, the notice was delivered to the deputy governor through his chief protocol officer.

The Speaker emphasised that the decision to serve the notice on Aiyedatiwa was reached through a resolution passed by the house, which is in accordance with Section 188 of the Nigerian Constitution.

According to him, the Constitution stipulates that the Assembly should wait for seven days for the embattled deputy governor to respond, which has lapsed.

The speaker directed the Chief Judge of Ondo State, Justice Olusegun Odusola, to immediately set up a seven-man panel to investigate the deputy governor on allegations levelled against him.

Meanwhile, an Ifa priest, Olupelumi Fagboyegun, has called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the political war between Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to prevent bloodshed in the state.

Fagboyegun, an Owo-born Ifa priest and the founder of Isese Life Ministry, Diaspora, noted that some “faceless bandits” in the Nigerian Army were plotting to take advantage of the political crisis to cause catastrophe that would pave the way for the truncation of the Third Republic.

Addressing a press conference in Osogbo yesterday, the cleric said the political crisis, if not well addressed, may lead to bloodshed and total breakdown of law and order in the state.

He stressed that amicable resolution of the feud between the governor and Aiyedatiwa was necessary to guide against possible truncation of democratic process in Ondo and Nigeria at large.

Fagboyegun called for an end to the impeachment process against Aiyedatiwa and asked Ondo State House of Assembly members to recuse themselves from the proceedings.

He said: “From our history in Ondo State, such situations have happened in the past and the consequences of those situations led to the deaths of many people and derailments of democratic government by the military. In 1963, political wrangling between two political parties led to an uprising which my late father, Rev Canon Johnson Olajide Fagboyegun aka JOE vigorously tried to mediate between the two warring factions (like I am doing now) but failed in his efforts.

“The situation eventually led to a total breakdown of law and order, which led to scores of people dying within Ogho (Owo) land and Usho town. This later escalated to what is now known as “Operation Wet Eh” in the South Western part of Nigeria and brought down the democratic government of the late Abubakar Tafawa Balewa on January 16, 1966.”

Also, Coalition of All Progressives Congress (APC) Support Groups has hailed the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Ganduje, for his reconciliation move in the ongoing impeachment crisis in Ondo State.

The coalition also described as welcome development the move by Ganduje to establish a nine-man committee, chaired by former Governor of Katsina State, to facilitate a peaceful reconciliation process among the key stakeholders, including the Ondo State Governor, his deputy, and other parties involved.

According to a statement by its coordinator, Kolade Edward, yesterday, the group observed that the decision to employ a peace reconciliation mechanism underscores Ganduje’s profound commitment to internal democracy, adding that it also demonstrates his unwavering dedication to promoting harmony and unity among party members.