Ondo State House of Assembly has issued a fresh directive to the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Olusegun Odusola, to establish a seven-member panel to investigate allegations of gross misconduct leveled against the Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
This move comes after the Assembly commenced the impeachment process against the deputy governor last week, serving him a notice containing a total of 14 allegations of gross misconduct.
During the Tuesday plenary session, the Assembly voiced its concern over the deputy governor’s lack of response to the allegations. Oluwole Ogunmolasuyi, the Majority Leader, moved a motion to instruct the Chief Judge to set up a panel to commence the probe into Aiyedatiwa’s conduct, which was seconded by Mr. Felix Afe.
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The Speaker of the Assembly, Olamide Oladiji, emphasized that Deputy Governor Aiyedatiwa had failed to respond to the allegations, and the notice had been received by the Chief Protocol Officer on his behalf. Speaker Oladiji pointed out that Section 188 of the Nigerian Constitution mandates the Assembly to wait for seven days for the deputy governor to provide a response, a timeframe that has now lapsed.
The Speaker said,
“Concerted efforts were made to serve the notice on the deputy governor, who, for some time, was not available for the service, prompting the House to approach the court for a substituted service on the deputy governor.
“On 25th of September, a substituted service of the notice of allegations was made on the deputy governor duly signed by more than one-third honourable members of the House as required by the Constitution in Section 188(2).”
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He added,
“Section 188 of the Constitution states further that the deputy governor has seven days within which to reply to the allegations levelled against him.
“The constitution states further that within seven days of the passing of a motion, under the foregoing provisions of this section, the Chief Judge of the state shall at the request of the Speaker of the House of Assembly appoint a panel of seven persons
“Distinguished colleagues, I, therefore, wish to seek your opinion to direct the Chief Judge of Ondo State, Honourable Justice Olusegun Odusola, to, in line with this section of the constitution, set up a seven-man panel to investigate the deputy governor on the allegations levelled against him.”
Last week, the Deputy Governor successfully obtained a temporary injunction from the Federal High Court in Abuja, preventing the Assembly from proceeding with the impeachment process against him.
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Furthermore, the court issued an injunction that prevents Governor Rotimi Akeredolu from selecting a new deputy governor and submitting the nomination to the legislators for approval. This injunction remains in effect until the court hears and makes a decision on the main legal case.
