Ondo Assembly Speaker, Hon. Bamidele Oloyelogun, said the vacancy declaration was in consonance with Section 109 (1g) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Following alleged anti-party activities, the Ondo State House of Assembly has declared the seats of two members vacant.
The affected members are Hon. Favour Tomomewo (APC-Ilaje 2) and Hon. Torhukerhijo Success (APC-Ese-Odo).
According to the Ondo Assembly, the legislators belonged to another party other than the All Progressives Congress that sponsored them to the House.
Also, the duo were said to have contested the last primaries under the platform of another party, the Peoples Democratic Party, without officially notifying the Ondo Assembly that they had defected to another party.
The declaration followed a letter earlier received from the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ade Adetimenhin, requesting for the sacking of the two lawmakers from the House.
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Ondo Assembly Speaker, Hon. Bamidele Oloyelogun, said the vacancy declaration was in consonance with Section 109 (1g) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
He called on INEC to conduct election to fill the vacant seats within 90 days.
He also directed the two lawmakers to return all government properties in their custody to the Clerk of the House while all their benefits and entitlements have been stopped.
Oloyelogun expressed worry at the lawmakers’ action and said there was no crisis in the APC in the state to warrant it.
The Ondo Assembly also passed a bill providing for the establishment of alternative dispute resolution in the state.
In April, the Ondo Assembly declared vacant the seat of a former Deputy Speaker, Iroju Ogundeji, for allegedly defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party.
Ogundeji, who represented Odigbo Constituency 1, filed a suit in court to contest the assembly’s decision.
He earlier had a crisis with the leadership of the House which led to his removal as the deputy speaker and later suspension in 2020 but the action of the assembly was quashed by the court.