Ondo State House of Assembly has impeached its speaker, Rt. Hon. Jumoke Akindele over alleged N15million naira fraud. The Assembly also sent the Deputy speaker, the majority leader and other leaders packing.
Information reaching Greenbarge Reporters however indicated that the Speaker and other leaders were suspended even as legislature quickly appointed their replacements.
Those who were picked in their places today, Friday, immediately after dispensing with the former leaders are
Fourteen out of the twenty-six Ondo State House of Assembly lawmakers on Friday evening sacked their speaker, Malachi Coker, from Ilaje constituency II as acting Speaker, while Hon. Ayodele Arowole from Owo state constituency I was picked as his deputy. Also, Hon. Olamide George from Akure north State constituency was appointed as the Majority leader.
The suspension of the principal leaders of the Assembly followed an incident, where the house paymaster was allegedly caught by members of the assembly with the sum of N15million at the premises of the Assembly.
When confronted, the paymaster said he was acting on the instruction of the suspended speaker, Princess Jumoke Akindele, who ordered him to bring the money to her residence.
The House which eventually sat at about 5pm moved that the leadership under Akindele had failed, as the lawmakers were not aware of the approval of the said sum.
It was gathered however that the removal of Akindele as the speaker was beyond the issue of fraud as majority of the lawmakers were said to be preparing the ground for the incoming governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to be sworn-in on February 24.
The sacking of the speaker was said also to have been carried out by the lawmakers who felt that she had not been protecting their interest despite her closeness with Governor Olusegun Mimiko.
Recently, the lawmakers rejected 38 bills sent to the Assembly by Mimiko on the ground that the governor must pay them their allowances before they could act on them. [myad]
