Allegation of illegal withdrawal of N15m rocks Ondo Assembly •As members trade tackles over speaker

Ondo State House of Assembly paymaster, with money allegedly withdrawn on the orders of the impeached Speaker. PHOTO: HAKEEM GBADAMOSI.

Members of the Ondo State House of Assembly, on Saturday, explained reasons why the Speaker of the House, Honourable Jumoke Akindele and two other principal officers were sacked on Friday.

Speaking during a press conference in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the spokesperson of the group, Ayodeji Itoju, said the principal officers of the house were sacked over an alleged financial recklessness.

Iroju, who stated that the action was taken for the good of the people of the state, said that members of the assembly intercepted a cash of N15million, which was withdrawn from the coffers of the assembly reportedly on the order of the speaker.

According to him, an emergency session was called by the lawmakers where 14 out of the 20 members signed the impeachment of the speaker and two other principal officers

Iroju said the vacant positions were subsequently filled, with Honourable Malachi Coker emerging as the new speaker of the Ondo House of Assembly, while Honourable Ayodele Arowele and Honourable Olamide George were elected deputy speaker and majority leader respectively.

He explained that the money withdrawn failed to pass the normal channels, as the issue was reportedly not discussed on the floor of the house.

Iroju called on the state governor, Dr.  Olusegun Mimiko, to recognise and work with the new leadership to move the state forward, while he called on security agencies in the state, especially the Commissioner of Police, to withdraw the security attached to the three principal officers.

But the chairman, House Committee on Information, Honourable Siji  Akindiose, countered him,  accusing the incoming All Progressives Congress (APC) government of being behind the removal of the speaker.

The lawmaker noted that the impeachment could not hold, as it did not meet the requirements of the law regarding impeachment of principal officials, noting that impeachment could only be carried out by two-thirds majority of the House.

Akindiose noted that there were procedures and there must be room for the principle of fair hearing in order for the involved people to defend themselves against the impeachment bid, berating some members of the House for “allowing themselves to be used to destabilise the peace in the Assembly.”

He noted that the fund being paraded by the aggrieved lawmakers as proceed of fraud was meant for projects and that it was properly appropriated for and approved by the leadership of the House.

He said: “To orchestrate such illegality, they blatantly took recourse to the travesty to the known rules and convention of the House. Expecting it to stand shows clearly that some people are either power-drunk or they are incapable of understanding or appreciating the fine ethos of the rules of the House and the rule of law.”