The crisis rocking the Ondo State House of Assembly has deepened as lawmakers pushing for the removal of Speaker Olamide Oladiji insisted that the impeachment process would continue despite alleged intervention by Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa.

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 move to remove Oladiji followed allegations surrounding the management of N44 million reportedly released to the Assembly by the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC).

Some lawmakers had accused the Speaker of failing to carry members along in the handling of the funds, an allegation Oladiji dismissed as false and fabricated.

The controversy has heightened tension within the Assembly, with reports suggesting that the positions of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker Ololade Gbegudu and Clerk of the House, Benjamin Jaiyeola, may be affected.

However, Oladiji has continued to deny the existence of any leadership crisis, maintaining that the Assembly remains united.

Fabiyi also disclosed that lawmakers initially believed the governor requested seven days to intervene in the matter but later discovered that he sought 14 days.

He insisted that the lawmakers remained committed to their decision, saying the removal of the Speaker was a resolution of the entire House.

“It is the resolution of the whole House that Mr Speaker should go,” Fabiyi stated.