You must go for forging House resolution on budget reordering, lawmakers restate

The crisis rocking the Ondo State House of Assembly seems to be far from over as the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, said yesterday that the real motive behind the push for his removal was not financial misconduct but a calculated plot by some lawmakers to prevent him from returning as Speaker in 2027.

Oladiji said that the grievances fuelling the current leadership tussle were politically motivated, following the inability of some of the lawmakers to secure the party’s ticket, particularly that of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Speaker emphasised that his colleagues were acting out of frustration, knowing they will not be part of the next Assembly after the 2027 general elections, adding that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has thrown his weight behind his return to the helm of the legislative House.

According to him, the reality is the primary driver of the dissent, not the purported grievances over the reordering of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) budget.

Oladiji, who challenged the timing of the complaints, questioned why issues that have not been raised in the past three years are suddenly becoming a crisis during the electioneering period, adding: “They don’t want me to come back as a Speaker in 2027; that is just the major issue.

However, the aggrieved lawmakers dismissed the Speaker’s claims as a diversionary tactic, as the Spokesperson of the Assembly and Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Olatunji Fabiyi, emphasised that the issue borders on alleged misappropriation and abuse of office.

Fabiyi, who represents Odigbo Constituency II, alleged that Oladiji unilaterally forged a resolution of the entire House regarding the OSOPADEC budget.

He further accused the Speaker of attempting to paint the aggrieved members as liabilities simply because they might not have secured their party’s tickets to return, saying that anyone supporting the Speaker should be regarded as an “accomplice.”