Ondo Assembly Speaker faces impeachment over alleged diversion of N44m OSOPADEC funds

Ondo State House of Assembly Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, is reportedly facing impeachment following allegations that he diverted ₦44 million released by the Ondo State Oil-Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC).

Reports indicate that 21 out of the 26 lawmakers in the Assembly have signed an impeachment notice against the speaker over claims of financial mismanagement.

The disputed funds were allegedly released for the reordering of the OSOPADEC 2026 budget. The controversy surrounding the money is said to have sparked a crisis within the Assembly, with tensions rising among lawmakers in recent days.

Multiple sources within the legislature alleged that the speaker has come under pressure in recent days as the controversy deepens.

According to the sources, some lawmakers accused Oladiji of failing to carry members along in the disbursement of the money, a development said to have fuelled fresh discontent within the assembly.

The crisis, they added, could also affect the position of Ololade Gbegudu, the deputy speaker, while Benjamin Jaiyeola, the assembly clerk, may be redeployed.

A source claimed the speaker considered stepping down on Monday ahead of a possible discussion of the matter during Tuesday’s plenary but was persuaded against the move.

“The Speaker contemplated resigning today but did not go ahead with it. The issue is connected to an alleged N44 million involving funds reportedly released by OSOPADEC to the Assembly,” the source alleged.

“The money was meant for the entire House, but there are allegations that the Speaker did not carry other lawmakers along in handling the funds.”

Another source attributed the speaker’s decision to remain in office to the intervention of a prominent political figure in the state.

“The Speaker wanted to resign today but did not eventually do so because of political intervention. We will see what happens tomorrow,” the source claimed.

However, in a statement, Oladiji dismissed the reports as false and politically motivated.

The speaker described the alleged leadership crisis and mismanagement of OSOPADEC funds as “sensationalised, malicious and entirely fabricated”.

“We state unequivocally, without an atom of ambiguity, that Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji never contemplated resigning, nor is there any leadership crisis within the 10th Ondo State House of Assembly,” the statement reads.

“The report is a total figment of the imagination of its authors and their nameless sources.”

The statement maintained that lawmakers independently determine and manage their welfare and resource allocations, insisting that the speaker only receives what is constitutionally due to his office.

It added that claims he sidelined members in the handling of the alleged N44 million OSOPADEC fund were “a manufactured lie designed to create artificial disaffection where none exists”.

Speaking with journalists, Oladiji also dismissed claims that 21 lawmakers had demanded his resignation.

“I’m not aware of that,” he said.

“I’m a law-abiding citizen… I’m a Christian, I don’t believe in all that. Let her come up with evidence to confirm such allegations.”

‘RESIGN OR FACE CONSEQUENCES’

Meanwhile, Olawumi Fayemi-Obayelu, a member representing Ilaje Constituency II, has alleged that she narrowly escaped death after receiving threats to stop what she described as her investigation into alleged bribery, forgery and corruption involving the speaker and OSOPADEC.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the lawmaker accused the speaker of attempting to intimidate her over the alleged impeachment move.

“Let me put this short word here based on the rumour going around. I have received numerous calls threatening me to halt my findings from the ongoing investigation linking bribery, forgery and corruption between the Speaker of the house of assembly and the OSOPADEC. Just now, I narrowly escaped death. Kilode,” she alleged.

The lawmaker reaffirmed what she described as the position of two-thirds of the house, urging the speaker to resign or “face the consequences” of his actions.

She also alleged that funds meant for her constituency were being diverted, vowing not to be intimidated.

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