By Ayodele Oni
The Executive and Legislative arms in Ondo State are engulfed in brickbats over moves by lawmakers to impeach the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Olamide Oladiji.
The crisis rocking the State House of Assembly has deepened as lawmakers pushing for the removal of Oladiji insisted that the impeachment process would continue despite alleged intervention by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
The Governor has, however, insisted that he remains committed only to the maintenance of peace, law and order in the State.
Reacting to claims by some lawmakers that the governor had been reaching out to members to halt the impeachment process, the government described the allegations as unfounded and misleading.
The legislators had since last week given Oladiji till last weekend to resign or be impeached.
The lawmakers, through the spokesperson of the Assembly, Mr Olatunji Fabiyi, said 21 members had already signed the impeachment notice against the Speaker, stressing that the decision to change the leadership of the House remained unchanged.
Fabiyi alleged that Governor Aiyedatiwa had been reaching out to some lawmakers to withdraw their support for the impeachment move, arguing that the matter was strictly within the constitutional powers of the legislature.
He said the lawmakers had no disagreement with the governor, but were only seeking a change in the leadership of the Assembly.
“I have the opinion that the governor is calling some members that they should backpedal on the issue of impeachment. It is exclusively a private affair of the House. It’s not an executive affair,” Fabiyi said.
The Assembly spokesperson questioned the reason behind the governor’s alleged intervention, insisting that the executive arm should not interfere in the affairs of the legislature.
He maintained that the lawmakers’ action was not targeted at Aiyedatiwa, but against the leadership of the Assembly, adding that they had lost confidence in the current Speaker.
“We have made it very clear to Mr Governor that we don’t have anything against him other than we don’t want our leadership.
“There is no reason why somebody should continue to perpetrate himself over us when we don’t want him again,” he said.
The Governor’s camp maintained that the executive has no constitutional role in the internal proceedings of the legislature, stressing that members of the House are free to carry out their legislative responsibilities without any form of interference from Governor Aiyedatiwa.
According to the Camp, “Mr. Governor has absolutely nothing to do with whatever is happening in the House of Assembly. He has not prevented any member from carrying out his or her constitutional and legislative responsibilities.”
The government further stated that Governor Aiyedatiwa’s overriding concern is the sustenance of peace and political stability in Ondo State, rather than becoming involved in the leadership crisis rocking the Assembly.
It noted that the governor respects the principle of separation of powers and would not interfere in the affairs of the legislative arm of government.
“The governor’s interest is to ensure peace, law and order prevail across the state. He is not stopping lawmakers from performing any of their legitimate constitutional duties.
“The House of Assembly is an independent arm of government, and its members are at liberty to discharge their responsibilities in line with the provisions of the Constitution and the House Rules,” the reaction added.
The government urged political actors and members of the public to refrain from dragging the governor into matters that are strictly within the jurisdiction of the legislature, insisting that any attempt to link him to the Assembly’s internal crisis is unnecessary and capable of heating up the political atmosphere.
It reiterated Governor Aiyedatiwa’s commitment to good governance, constitutional democracy and harmonious working relationships among the three arms of government, while expressing confidence that members of the Assembly would resolve their differences through lawful and democratic means.
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