The leadership crisis rocking the Ondo State House of Assembly has intensified, with a lawmaker alleging that the Assembly held only four plenary sittings between January and July 2026 under the leadership of Speaker Olamide Oladiji. Speaking anonymously to Punch on Tuesday, the lawmaker accused the Speaker of frustrating regular legislative sittings and replacing them with caucus and parliamentary meetings, despite the House not being on recess.

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The allegation comes amid moves by 21 of the 26 lawmakers to remove Oladiji over alleged financial misconduct involving the diversion of ₦44 million reportedly released for the reordering of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) budget. According to the lawmaker, the Assembly is expected to sit three times weekly but has failed to meet that constitutional obligation for several months. He claimed members had become reluctant to challenge the leadership for fear of sanctions. The Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Olatunji Fabiyi, confirmed that lawmakers had been holding parliamentary meetings but disclosed that members had informed the Speaker he no longer enjoyed their confidence and advised him to resign voluntarily to safeguard his political future.

Responding to the allegations, Speaker Oladiji dismissed the claims as baseless, insisting that parliamentary meetings are statutory and as important as plenary sessions. He challenged his critics to provide evidence to support their accusations and explained that the frequency of plenary sittings often depends on the volume of bills transmitted by the executive arm of government. The Speaker maintained that the Assembly has continued to carry out its legislative responsibilities in accordance with its procedures despite the ongoing controversy.