On Monday, Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, initiated legal action against the Ondo State House of Assembly following the commencement of impeachment proceedings against him last week. Aiyedatiwa’s move comes in response to allegations of gross misconduct made against him during his tenure as acting governor when Governor Rotimi Akeredolu was on a medical vacation.
Akeredolu’s return from the vacation coincided with the removal of Aiyedatiwa’s media team, suggesting tension between them. Last Wednesday, the House directed the clerk to serve the impeachment petition on Aiyedatiwa, officially initiating the impeachment process.
Through his lawyer, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, Aiyedatiwa approached the Ondo State High Court in Akure, seeking an order to halt the impeachment proceedings. The suit, marked AK/348/2023, calls for the court to declare that the defendants (Ondo State Government, Governor of Ondo State, Ondo State House of Assembly, Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Clerk of the Ondo State House of Assembly, and Chief Judge of Ondo State) are not entitled to pursue his removal in violation of his constitutional and fundamental rights.
Aiyedatiwa also seeks to prevent the defendants from interfering with his constitutional duties and functions as deputy governor and to restore his rights and privileges as duly elected deputy governor, including the restoration of his media aides and press crew.
As of now, the court has not set a date for the lawsuit.
In a related development, the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Mr. Olumide Oladiji, has claimed that his life is under threat due to the impeachment process against the deputy governor. He stated that individuals had issued threats to his life through phone calls and that fetish items were discovered in front of his official quarters.
Oladiji believes these threats are connected to the ongoing impeachment process. He has reported these threats to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other security agencies.
Despite these developments, the House has struggled to serve the impeachment notice to the deputy governor, who claims he has not received any official communication regarding the allegations against him.
Additionally, a group called the Ondo Redemption Front has called on the National Assembly to intervene in the ongoing impeachment process, expressing concern about the state’s governance and the absence of the governor. They believe that the Assembly should focus on addressing pressing issues in the state instead of pursuing the impeachment of the deputy governor.