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THE Ondo State House of Assembly on Wednesday, April 22, directed Justice Olaseinde Kumuyi, chief judge of the state, to set up a seven-man committee to probe the impeachable offences levelled against Ali Olanusi, deputy governor.

Jumoke Akindele, speaker of the House, who moved the motion, asked the chief judge to follow the constitution in carrying out the assignment. She promised that the House would work on the recommendations of the committee.

The House, on Tuesday, April 21, served Olanusi an impeachment notice for alleged misconduct and inefficiency in office, among other offences. The impeachment notice was signed by 20 of its 25 members; 23 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and two All Progressives Congress, APC, members.

The impeachment plot has created tension in the state, with PDP supporters pitched against the APC members. The APC, in a statement by Abayomi Adesanya, its publicity secretary, said it would prevent Olanusi’s impeachment, saying the process would be an exercise in futility. The party has also threatened to use all legal means to prevent the House of Assembly from impeaching the deputy governor.

Akoko indigenes in the Northern District where Olanusi hails from, through its social political organisation, Akoko Elite Forum, AEF, has also vowed to resist attempts to impeach Olanusi. Olanusi, in an intermittent radio jingle, urged the citizenry to remain calm, stressing that God would rescue the people from what he called political bondage. Olanusi, two days to presidential election of March 28, dumped the PDP for the APC, thereby spitting Governor Olusegun Mimiko in the face.

— May 4, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT

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