Ondo State House of Assembly yesterday restarted the impeachment process against Deputy Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
The process was suspended following the intervention by All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje.
Chief Judge of Ondo State, Olusegun Odusola also declined to constitute a panel that will investigate the misconduct allegations levelled against Aiyedatiwa by the lawmakers.
During Ganduje’s meeting with a delegation from the assembly led by Speaker Oladiji Olamide, it was decided that the impeachment process be put on hold to allow for a political resolution of the crisis.
One of the conditions was for Aiyedatiwa to withdraw the cases he filed to stall the impeachment.
Sources said the assembly opted to resume the impeachment process when it received no notice that Aiyedatiwa had withdrawn the cases as agreed.
Yesterday, the Speaker, wrote another letter to the Chief Judge, requesting him to constitute a panel to investigate the allegations levelled against Aiyedatiwa in line with Section 188 (5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
He told Justice Odusola that the restraining order of an Abuja High Court had elapsed or become extinguished by the operation of the law, in view of the provisions of Order 26 Rule 10(2) & (3) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019.
Oladiji said the court had not heard the motion the assembly filed to discharge the order and/or strike out the case for want of jurisdiction.
The letter reads: “The court has not taken the application or renewed the order, as evident in the Certified True Copy of the court’s record of proceedings for 9 October 2023 and 16 October 2023.
“In Exhibit ODHA3, it was recorded that the motion was served on the plaintiff in court on 9 October 2023, after which the matter was adjourned till 16 October 2023.
“In view of the above facts, your lordship will agree that the said order has elapsed by the operation of the law, and no longer constitutes an encumbrance for your lordship to discharge the sacred constitutional obligation placed on your office by virtue of Section 188 (5) of the constitution to set up the seven-man panel.
“Consequently, the 10th Ondo State House of Assembly hereby calls on your lordship to kindly constitute the panel without any further delay”.
Majority Leader Oluwole Ogunmolasuyi insisted that the impeachment process was never suspended.
He said the assembly did not receive any evidence that Aiyedatiwa withdrew the cases.
Ogunmolasuyi said 23 lawmakers agreed that the chief judge should constitute the panel.
“Should we wait for the party before we perform our duty? As an arm of government, we have followed due process and the impeachment process has never been suspended.
“This is a constitutional issue. There is an allegation which we have furnished the deputy governor and he has not replied”.
