An Ondo-based human rights lawyer, Allen Sowore, has called for the removal of the Speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly, Hon Olamide Oladiji over alleged disobedience of court order on the impeachment process of the state Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

This was contained in a statement issued and signed by Sowore, who said the action of the State Assembly and the Speaker is in flagrant violation of this process of impeachment.

Sowore also noted that the absence of the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has collapsed governance in the state, saying the welfare and well-being of the citizenry have been relegated to the background.

According to Sowore in the statement titled “Disobedience to Court Order: Immediate Removal of the Speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly Required,” instead of giving priority to the welfare of the people and governance in the state, what preoccupied the minds of the lawmakers is the impeachment of Deputy Governor.

He added in the statement that “where governance at the grassroots level—local government administration—has completely collapsed and the whereabouts and health status of the Chief Executive of the state remain shrouded in secrecy; where the general welfare and well-being of the citizenry have been relegated to its lowest ebb; at a time when infant and maternal mortality rates are on the rise due to the total neglect of the health sector, and practically nothing seems to be functioning in Ondo state, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Olamide Oladiji, has directed the State Chief Judge, Olusegun Odusola, to immediately set up a seven-man panel to investigate the Deputy Governor on nebulous allegations leveled against him during a plenary session, despite an existing valid court order.”

Sowore noted that Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja had granted an ex-parte order restraining the State House of Assembly from proceeding with the impeachment plan of the State Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

He maintained that the position of law is that the orders of the Court, whether of this one or some other, whether valid or not must be obeyed until it is set aside, as long as it is subsisting; by all no matter how lowly or highly placed in the society.

He said, “This recent unpatriotic action by the Speaker is an aberration, unconscionable, and undemocratic for a leader of an arm of government established by the constitution to flagrantly disregard and discard a valid court order from a court of competent jurisdiction. This is tantamount to a direct invitation to anarchy and a rudderless state.

“Ostensibly, the Speaker is attempting to disparage and discard the provisions of Section 6(6) a&b of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which vests and extends the judicial powers of the Court as follows:

“The powers of the judiciary shall extend, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this constitution, to all inherent powers and sanctions of a court of law; shall extend to all matters between persons, or between government or authority and any persons in Nigeria, and to all actions and proceedings relating thereto, for the determination of any question as to the civil rights and obligations of that person.

“It is worrisome that the Speaker would resort to self-help by insisting that the impeachment process of the Deputy Governor should proceed.

“The Speaker lost his composure and displayed rash desperation when he also wrote a petition to the National Judicial Council (NJC) against Justice Emeka Nwite for performing his duty as a judge.

“The Speaker is being motivated by ulterior motives rather than the collective wishes of the good people of the state.

“It is imperative, therefore, to be proactive, circumspect, and patriotic by calling for the immediate removal of such an ineffectual, incompetent, and desperate individual as the leader of one of the most important institutions of democracy before he compromises its integrity and wreaks havoc on our dear state. He should be removed and cited for contempt of Court,” he said. (Nigerian Tribune)

Update news