THE Ondo State House of Assembly has declared that it will not hold plenary until the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, resigns over allegations bordering on the diversion of ₦44 million released by the Ondo State Oil-Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC).
News Point Nigeria reports that the development comes amid an impeachment move against Oladiji, with 21 of the 26 members of the Assembly reportedly signing a notice seeking his removal over allegations of financial mismanagement.
The lawmakers accused the Speaker of failing to carry members along in the disbursement of the funds, which were reportedly released for the reordering of the OSOPADEC 2026 budget.
The allegations have sparked discontent within the Assembly over the past few days, deepening the leadership crisis in the state legislature.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Akure on Monday, the Assembly’s spokesperson, Olatunji Ifabiyi, said lawmakers had resolved not to hold plenary until a new Speaker was elected.
“We have resolved not to hold plenary until there is a change of Speaker,” Ifabiyi said.
“For now, there is no development except that Mr Speaker should just give way and allow another person to preside over the Ondo State House of Assembly.
“If he doesn’t resign, we will impeach him. If he fails to do the needful, we will do the needful,” he added.
Meanwhile, a principal officer of the Assembly, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the Ondo State executive convened a meeting on Sunday in an effort to resolve the crisis.
“There was a peace broker yesterday (Sunday) with the executive and we are not permitted to disclose details of the outcome of the meeting,” the official said.
“I don’t want to be the first to breach the agreement. But I can tell you that the matter has been resolved, but I will not tell you if it was in favour of anybody.
“We implored internal mechanisms to address the agitations in the House of Assembly, and we are going to hold a plenary soon,” the official added.
However, Ifabiyi said he was unaware of any peace meeting, maintaining that he did not know when the next plenary session would be held.
The Assembly spokesman also disclosed that allegations of an assassination attempt on a member of the House had been reported to the appropriate security authorities for investigation.