AKURE – A leadership crisis has engulfed the Ondo State House of Assembly as lawmakers resolved to suspend plenary indefinitely until Speaker Olamide Oladiji steps down over allegations of financial mismanagement involving ₦44 million reportedly released by the Ondo State Oil-Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC).

Visa Expiry Date Does Determine Your Stay – US Warns Foreigners

The crisis intensified after 21 of the 26 members of the Assembly reportedly signed an impeachment notice against the Speaker over the handling of funds linked to the reordering of OSOPADEC’s 2026 budget. Some lawmakers accused Oladiji of failing to adequately involve members in the disbursement process, a development that has heightened tensions within the legislature.

Assembly spokesperson, Olatunji Ifabiyi, told journalists in Akure on Monday that lawmakers had unanimously agreed not to reconvene for plenary until a new Speaker emerged. According to him, the Speaker should voluntarily resign or face impeachment. “We have resolved not to hold plenary until there is a change of Speaker. If he doesn’t resign, we will impeach him. If he fails to do the needful, we will do the needful,” Ifabiyi declared.

However, a principal officer of the Assembly, who spoke anonymously, disclosed that the Ondo State executive had intervened to broker peace between the warring lawmakers. The lawmaker said a reconciliation meeting held on Sunday had resolved the dispute through internal mechanisms and expressed optimism that plenary would resume soon, though he declined to reveal the details of the agreement.

Ifabiyi, however, denied knowledge of any peace meeting, insisting that no date had been fixed for the resumption of plenary and that the demand for the Speaker’s removal remained unchanged. He also confirmed that an allegation of an attempted assassination involving a member of the House had been reported to the relevant authorities for investigation, further underscoring the deepening crisis within the Assembly.