Daud Olatunji
An investigation by PLATFORM TIMES has revealed that the ousted Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo, had faced impeachment threats three times from a simple majority of lawmakers before his eventual removal on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Oluomo was removed by 18 lawmakers through a signed impeachment notice and was replaced by Oludaisi Elemide from Odeda.
Both Oluomo, representing Ifo 1, and Elemide who were from Ogun Central,had engaged in two electoral battles for the seat in 2019 and 2023.
Contrary to earlier media reports, PLATFORM TIMES learned that the mace was hijacked from the bearer while heading towards the former speaker’s office shortly after he returned from a public event attended with Governor Dapo Abiodun.
PLATFORM TIMES further gathered that Oluomo was in his office preparing for the plenary when the impeachment took place.
An insider informed PLATFORM TIMES that before his eventual impeachment, Oluomo had been presented with the already signed notice of impeachment three times but withdrew it after accepting their terms.
PLATFORM TIMES also discovered that the notice had been a tool for some lawmakers, whose number could not be ascertained but exceeded 18, to keep the former speaker in check whenever there was any agreement.
An impeccable source, pleading anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, revealed that Oluomo could have been removed long before Tuesday when he was ousted but had managed to escape.
According to the source, Oluomo always carried the mace with him and even took it to the public function where the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, swore in two judges and permanent secretaries.
The former speaker later returned from the occasion and was preparing for the plenary.
However, he entered his office while a mace bearer took the mace from the vehicle, heading towards the office when it was hijacked by a lawmaker.
Within a short time, aggrieved lawmakers gained entrance into the chamber, briefly held a plenary presided over by the deputy, Bolanle Ajayi, and removed Oluomo.
Oluomo later noticed the absence of the mace and, by the time he found out what went wrong, he had lost the seat.
Meanwhile, PLATFORM TIMES gathered that shortly after he was imposed on the lawmakers by Abiodun and Yayi’s camp in 2023, the aggrieved lawmakers had compiled the impeachment notice and had shown it to him.
The source revealed that whenever the impeachment notice was shown to him during the plenary, Oluomo would quickly adjourn.
He was said to have underestimated his colleague-lawmakers who had several times threatened him with the impeachment notice.
A reliable source told PLATFORM TIMES that Oluomo’s sins included their disagreement over their share before the 2023 budget would be passed.
The Assembly, dominated by the All Progressives Congress with 17 members against nine from the Peoples Democratic Party, was unanimous in passing the budget.
PLATFORM TIMES could not confirm the allegation that lawmakers were offered N3m each before the budget was passed.
PLATFORM TIMES also could not confirm that lawmakers insisted on N10m each before passing the N703 Billion 2024 budget.
The former speaker was said to have entered into the trouble due to alleged financial misappropriation leveled against him by his colleagues.
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