Impeachment: No Court Can Stop Our Proceeding On Deputy Governor – Ondo Assembly Speaker

By Ayodele Oni

Ondo State House of Assembly has said it will not be deterred by an interlocutory injunction by an Abuja court halting the impeachment process of the state deputy governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had, on Tuesday, restrained the Assembly from proceeding on the impeachment process pending determination of the substantive suit.

A statement, signed by the Assembly’s Speaker, Oladiji Olamide, pointed out that the House expected the Deputy Governor to wait to be served with the notice, rather than rushing to Court.

“The House is shocked that rather than wait to be served with notice of the allegation of gross misconduct, and react to same as required by the Constitution, the Deputy Governor has been running from pillar to post and filing multiply suits in both at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court and the Ondo State High Courts in a bid to stop the legislative process.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the House is fully conscious of Section 188 (10) of the Constitution which clearly states that “No proceedings or determination of the panel or of the House of Assembly or any matter relating to such proceedings or determination shall be entertained or questioned in any Court.

“In the case of Abaribe V. Abia State House of Assembly (2022) 14 NWLR (Pt. 788) 466, the Court of Appeal emphatically stated that it was wrong for the Appellant to jump the gun by rushing to the Court to stop his impeachment process on the ground of alleged breach of fair hearing when the panel to investigate and hear him had not even been constituted.

“The Court of Appeal then restated that by the provision of Section 188 (10) of the Constitution, no court has the jurisdiction at that stage to interfere in the legislative proceedings for impeachment.

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly restated that the Court can only intervene when the procedures for impeachment have been breached.

“In this case however, the Deputy Governor rushed to court even before the notice of impeachment was served on him. For the records, no procedures have been breached in any way.

“In view of these, the House has directed its team of Lawyers to investigate the purported injunction secured by the Deputy Governor and report any judicial officer who might have abused his office in granting the unconstitutional ex-parte injunction to the appropriate institution for necessary disciplinary action.

“The House wishes to assure the general public that it would proceed with the legislative process to a logical conclusion.

“But in doing so, will strictly follow the Constitutional procedures. The House will not abdicate or compromise its sacred constitutional duty to hold elected public officers accountable, particularly where there are prima facie serious allegations of corruption and abuse of power levelled against the Deputy Governor in this case.”