Nine members of the Ondo State House of Assembly have rejected the purported removal of Rt Hon Ogundeji Iroju as the Deputy Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly.
The House had yesterday said 20 out of 26 lawmakers impeached Iroju and elected Hon Samuel Aderoboye as the Deputy Speaker.
The Assembly members who are anti-impeachment of the Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi and are also against the purported removal of Ogundeji included Rasheed Elegbeleye, Suleiman Jamiu Maito, Adewale Williams-Adewinle, Festus Akingbaso, Ogundeji Iroju, Favour Tomomowo, and Tomide Akinribido. Others included Success Tuhurkerijor and Samuel Edamisan
The lawmakers described the impeachment as unlawful as it did not meet the required constitutional requirements for the impeachment of the Deputy Speaker.
They argued that section 92 sub 2C of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended requires two-third majority cum provisions of the rules and standing order of the House for the impeachment of the Speaker or his Deputy.
The same provision for the removal of Speaker and Deputy is provided for in section 9 (sub 1-IX) of the standing order of the house. It requires two-third majority for their removal.
It must be known that there was no place where the Assembly sat at either the plenary or parliamentary where the decision to remove Rt Hon Iroju Ogundeji took place where
It must be noted that the impunity reign supreme in the Assembly where Rt Hon Bamidele Oleyeloogun presides.
They argued that the action of some lawmakers in the Assembly was impunity taken to the highest level in a state governed by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).