The Ondo State House of Assembly has brushed off the recent Federal Court orders restraining them from continuing with the impeachment proceedings against the state’s deputy governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
The Assembly, in a statement made available to the media, said they would not abdicate their legislative functions of holding public office holders accountable and, therefore, vowed to go ahead with the impeachment proceedings against the embattled deputy governor.
Recall that, as earlier reported by MUK TV, Aiyedatiwa had secured a court injunction from an Abuja Federal High Court restraining the State Assembly from continuing with the impeachment proceedings against him.
But in reaction to the court injunction, the Ondo State House of Assembly, through a statement signed by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Oladiji Olamide Adesanmi, assured the general public that it would proceed with the legislative process of the impeachment to a logical conclusion but would follow the laid-down constitutional procedures in doing so.
“The House will not abdicate or compromise its sacred constitutional duty to hold elected public officers accountable, particularly where there are prima facie serious allegations of corruption and abuse of power leveled against the Deputy Governor in this case,” the lawmakers vowed.
In defending its determination to continue with the impeachment proceedings, the House made reference to the case of Abaribe v. Abia State House of Assembly (2022) 14 NWLR (Pt. 788), noting that the Court of Appeal unequivocally stated that it was wrong for the appellant to jump the gun by rushing to the Court to stop his impeachment process on the ground of alleged breach of fair hearing when the panel to investigate and hear him had not even been constituted.
“The Court of Appeal then restated that, by the provision of Section 188(10) of the Constitution, no court has the jurisdiction at that stage to interfere in the legislative proceedings for impeachment.
“The Supreme Court has repeatedly restated that the Court can only intervene when the procedures for impeachment have been breached. In this case, however, the Deputy Governor rushed to court even before the notice of impeachment was served on him. For the record, no procedures have been breached in any way.
“In view of these, the House has directed its team of lawyers to investigate the purported injunction secured by the Deputy Governor and report any judicial officer who might have abused his office in granting the unconstitutional ex-parte injunction to the appropriate institution for necessary disciplinary action,” the statement said.
