A deep political crisis has engulfed the Ondo State House of Assembly as the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, has fiercely dismissed an impeachment move by 12 lawmakers, accusing them of attempting to blackmail the state governor and hold the legislative house hostage over unmet personal demands.
The 26-member Assembly, composed entirely of members from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has been fractured for weeks. The body is now split into two camps: 14 lawmakers aligned with the Speaker and 12 aggrieved members who have stayed away from proceedings and are now seeking the Speaker's removal.
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The crisis became public when reports circulated on social media that the dissenting lawmakers had passed a vote of no confidence and begun collecting signatures for impeachment. One of the leaders of the revolt, Honourable Olajide Oguntolu, representing Akure South Constituency 1, publicly reiterated the allegations. “There is gross misappropriation of funds in that Assembly,” Oguntolu alleged during an interview on Crest FM in Akure. “This Speaker thinks he is running a kindergarten Assembly. All we are asking for is transparency and accountability. We have all signed the impeachment notice.”
However, Speaker Oladiji provided a starkly different narrative. He stated that the lawmakers leading the impeachment charge have refused to attend legislative duties, with many reportedly outside the country. He insisted their actions were politically motivated and directly linked to demands they made to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
“These honourable members... have not been coming to the House for legislative duties... They said they have certain demands from His Excellency, but we cannot tie legislative work—particularly the supplementary budget—to personal requests,” the Speaker stated. Addressing the financial misconduct allegations directly, Oladiji maintained, “We have an accounting officer in the House. I only give approvals; I do not handle money. Their accusations are tied to their demands, not to any misconduct.”
With both factions refusing to back down, the Ondo State House of Assembly remains in a state of paralysis, threatening to stall crucial government business, including the passage of the supplementary budget.
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