Ondo Assembly crisis deepens as 24 lawmakers demand Speaker’s removal

Twenty-four of the 26 lawmakers in the Ondo State House of Assembly have backed calls to remove Speaker Rt. Hon.

Olamide Oladiji, according to reports that emerged on Friday. The members are pushing for his removal over accusations of financial misconduct and abuse of office.

The alleged impropriety centres on roughly ₦44 million linked to a budget reordering at the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC). Hon.Olawunmi Fayemi-Obayelu, who represents Ilaje Constituency II, said three lawmakers had recently joined 21 others backing the impeachment drive.

Fayemi-Obayelu told reporters the Speaker had lost the backing of most members in the chamber. She noted that lawmakers had kept quiet publicly to respect Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s bid to broker peace, which allowed two weeks for talks.

That window closes on Sunday, she said, but members remain set on removing the Speaker. Fayemi-Obayelu also claimed Oladiji passed a House resolution without member approval and raised concerns about electricity meters handed out under the O’Datiwa Meter Distribution Programme.

She pushed the Speaker to resign to protect the Assembly’s interests and his own standing. Oladiji hit back, denying wrongdoing and calling the impeachment bid a political manoeuvre tied to 2027 election calculations.

According to him, some aggrieved members were upset after missing out on return tickets and resented his continued Assembly leadership. Olatunji Fabiyi, chairman of the House Committee on Information and spokesman, dismissed the Speaker’s account entirely.

Fabiyi insisted the move was rooted in governance and accountability concerns, not politics. He alleged the Speaker acted without House approval on the OSOPADEC budget matter, breaching legislative rules.

The lawmakers’ stance on removing Oladiji remains firm, Fabiyi maintained. Governor Aiyedatiwa and All Progressives Congress leaders have attempted to intervene and resolve the standoff.

The aggrieved members, however, say they’ve lost faith in the Speaker’s leadership and won’t budge from their position.