Ondo Assembly Reverses Impeachment Of Deputy Speaker

Barely 24 hours after  Rt.Hon.Ogundeji Iroju was impeached as the Deputy Speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly, his impeachment was on Wednesday reversed by the lawmakers.

The action came on the heels of the intervention by the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), particularly the governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

The Assembly had removed the deputy speaker, Rt Hon. Ogundeji Iroju at a sitting on Tuesday evening.

The motion for his impeachment was allegedly supported by 18 of the 26 lawmakers over irreconcilable differences bothering on their welfare.

The allegations against the leadership of the Assembly bothered on “ high handedness,  incompetence ,lack of respect for the office of the Speaker and of lack proper accountability as the person in charge of the finances of the house”.

But after the intervention of the governor and other well meaning Nigerians, the lawmakers resolved to allow peace to reign and reversed the impeachment of the deputy speaker.

Addressing newsmen on the latest development, the chairman of the Assembly’s Information Committee, Fatai Olotu, said they acted in the best interest of the state.

Olotu said, ” you will agree with me that everybody in the House was elected on the platform of a particular party. Our political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) intervened immediately the impeachment was done yesterday.

” We had series meetings with eminent and respectable people in the state that we should have rethink in the interest of peace. Having considered all those pleas , we resolved that the impeachment of the Deputy Speaker be suspended and he should be reinstated.

“We thank our party for prompt intervention. By respecting the party ,we are respecting the Governor. Nothing in the law that says we cannot reverse what we have done yesterday. “

However,  there was a mild drama at the hallow chamber of the Assembly as Hon. Oluyede Feyide and Hon. Ogundeji Iroju exchange of punches during the plenary .

Consequently, lawmakers on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, have been moved to the party’s state secretariat in Akure for an emergency meeting with the chairman, Engr. Ade Adetimehin.

Trouble started when all efforts to reverse the impeachment of former deputy speaker failed during a rowdy plenary session of the Assembly.

Consequently, lawmakers on the platform of the APC, later moved to the party’s state secretariat in Akure for an emergency meeting with the chairman, Engr. Ade Adetimehin.

Adetimehin had visited the Assembly in an effort to persuade the lawmakers to reinstate Iroju but his efforts yielded no results as a simple majority of lawmakers insisted on the actions taken on Tuesday which led to the inauguration of Hon. Bimbo Fajolu as new Deputy Speaker.

Adetimehim refused to speak on the matter when leaving the Assembly complex, simply saying “nothing is happening in the Assembly”.

The Director of the Department of State Security and the state Commissioner of Police were present as security was beefed up at the Assembly complex.