Ondo Lawmakers agree to ceasefire on impeaching embattled Deputy Governor
By Joel Oladele, Abuja
Lawmakers of the Ondo State House of Assembly have agreed to halt moves to impeach the embattled State Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
The decision was reached on Tuesday after a closed-door meeting with the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.
Recall that Aiyedatiwa has been under the threat of impeachment by the House over allegations of gross misconduct and has been served with notice of the allegations levelled against him by the lawmakers.
The meeting which lasted for about two hours had in attendance members of the party’s NWC, the Aminu Bello Masari-led 9-man Reconciliation Committee, party State Chairman, Engr. Ade Adetimilehin and 18 of the 22 APC lawmakers led by Speaker, Rt. Hon. Oladeji Olamide.
Addressing journalists after the meeting, the Chairman of the reconciliation committee, Aminu Bello Masari said that the national leadership was committed to finding a lasting solution to the crisis in the state.
The former Kastina State Governor further said that all actions towards the impeachment of the deputy governor have been put on hold to enable his committee to reach out to all stakeholders.
“We are working hard with the House of Assembly and the National leadership of the party to find a lasting solution to the crisis bedevilling our party and the government in Ondo state.
“All actions for the pros and against have been suspended for now to allow the committee to complete its work.
“The Speaker House of Assembly is here with us, he will collaborate with the leader of the party to see the final stand of the APC National Working Committee.”
Admitting that the lawmakers were in Abuja at the instance of the National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and the reconciliation committee, the Speaker of the State Assembly, Rt. Hon. Oladeji Olamide said the lawmakers have agreed to cooperate with the party in finding a lasting solution to the crisis.
According to the Speaker, “We were invited by the National chairman and the chairman of the Reconciliation Committee. We promised to work with the national chairman and the chairman of the reconciliation committee to find a lasting solution to the political crisis in Ondo State.
“We gave a promise that on our part, we are ready to cooperate as an arm of government with the party. At the same time, whenever they want to meet us, we will be of help to the committee.
“More importantly, we will allow the committee to do their work without hitches. Apart from that, we believe this is the only political solution that will be of help to resolve the crisis in Ondo State.”
Appreciating all the stakeholders in the crisis for allowing a political solution to the impasse in the state, the APC National Chairman said the decision by the lawmakers to ceasefire showed that they are democrats and committed party faithful.
Ganduje, who said he had received an interim report from the Masari-led committee, disclosed that the reconciliation committed was yet to meet with the embattled deputy governor and his boss, Governor Olwarotimi Akeredolu, but confirmed the ceasefire agreement reached with the lawmakers.
According to him, “Now, having suspended the impeachment process, they (lawmakers) have created a conducive environment to continue dialoguing. We believe that we will reach a political solution.
“APC, as a political party, is an institution that is indispensable to democracy. Therefore, apart from our basic function for recruitment of membership, elected officers and appointed officers, it is our responsibility to see that all the ethics of democracy are followed and crises averted in our government, both at the sub-national level and at the international level.
“It is a political crisis and we are a political institution. So there’s no way we can fold our arms and see that our children are fighting and we allow them to go like that,” Ganduje noted.
