Ondo Assembly suspends plenary as Lawmakers insist speaker must resign

The Ondo State House of Assembly says it will not resume plenary until the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, resigns from office amid the ongoing leadership crisis rocking the legislature.

The Assembly’s spokesperson, Olatunji Ifabiyi, made the position known on Monday during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Akure, insisting that the majority of lawmakers were in support of the Speaker’s removal.

The crisis followed allegations that Oladiji unilaterally reordered the ₦9.2 billion 2025 budget of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC).

A total of 21 out of the 26 lawmakers have reportedly signed a resolution to impeach the Speaker should he fail to step down voluntarily.

“We have resolved not to hold plenary until there is a change of speaker.

“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,” Ifabiyi said.

The Assembly spokesperson, however, declined to state when lawmakers would reconvene for plenary, adding that he was unaware of any meeting held on Sunday between members of the House and the state executive to resolve the crisis.

He also disclosed that allegations of an assassination plot involving a member of the Assembly had been reported to the appropriate security authorities for investigation.

Meanwhile, a principal officer of the Assembly, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Ondo State Government had intervened in the dispute.

According to the lawmaker, a peace meeting involving the executive and members of the Assembly was held on Sunday, but participants agreed not to disclose details of the outcome.

“There was a peace broker yesterday (Sunday) with the executive, and we are not permitted to disclose details of the outcome of the meeting.

“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 anyone’s favour.

“We too employ internal mechanisms on the agitations in the House of Assembly, and we are going to hold plenary soon,” the source said. (NAN)