Impeachment notice served on Ondo Deputy Governor, Alli Olanusi, by the House of Assembly points to a new dimension in his fragile relations with Governor Olusegun Mimiko, Special Correspondent, JULIUS ALABI, reports.
With the impeachment notice served on the Ondo State Deputy Governor, Alli Olanusi, by the House of Assembly, last week, the face-off between him and the governor, Olusegun Mimiko, appears to have entered a more consuming dimension. In fact, it is currently insinuated in some quarters that with the turn of events, the game is up for him.
The present stage of the impasse commenced with the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mrs. Jumoke Akindele, directing the Clerk of the House, Bode Akinyelu, to serve Olanusi notice of impeachment “for gross misconduct”.
At a plenary sitting in Akure, the House claimed that the action was in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
The development followed a motion on Constitutional Matter raised by the House Leader, Ifedayo Akinsoyinu, from Ondo West Constituency II.
He cited Section 188 of the constitution and presented a document containing allegations of gross misconduct against the deputy governor, which he said was signed by 20 of the 26 members of the Assembly.
Some of the nine allegations levelled against him included financial misappropriation, absenteeism from official duties and causing political disaffection in the cabinet of the state government.
TheNiche gathered that the impeachment procedure was an attempt at getting back at the deputy governor for allegedly rebelling against the government during the April 11 House of Assembly election when he openly campaigned for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates.
The Majority Leader, Ifedayo Akinsoyinu, from Ondo West Constituency II moved the motion and was seconded by Yinka Banso from Akoko North West Constituency I.
Olanusi had, on March 26, dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for APC and since then he had been at loggerheads with Mimiko.
Mimiko, who put in a lot to regain political relevance in the state, bounced back from design of defectors from APC led by his deputy to march on to the victory, winning 19 seats in the House of Assembly.
Areas won by the governor are Akoko North East, Akoko North West Constituency II, Akoko South East, Akure North, Akure South Constituency I, Ese-Odo, Idanre, Ifedore, and Ile-Oluji/Oke-Igbo. Others are Irele, Odigbo Constituency I, Odigbo Constituency II, Okitipupa Constituency I, Okitipupa Constituency II, Ondo East, Ondo West Constituency I, Ondo West Constituency II, Ose, and Owo Constituency I.
APC has Akoko North West Constituency I, Akoko South West Constituency I, Akoko South West Constituency II, Akure South Constituency II, and Owo Constituency II. Result of Ilaje Constituency I and Ilaje II, which was pending following skirmishes during the election in the local government area, had been released and they are in favour of the PDP.
The speaker, who went through the notice, said it had complied with the provision of the constitution, having met the one-third requirement for an impeachment of the officer to commence.
She subsequently directed the clerk to serve notice to the affected personality and all the 26 members of the Assembly.
Alli, before his defection, had mapped out strategies on how APC would win up to 20 seats in the election. But his permutation turned out not working as he had desired, hence his current crisis.
Our reporter gathered that the defection of the deputy governor came as a surprise to Mimiko and others because he (Alli) was made the Chairman of the Reconciliation Committee of the PDP in Ondo and has done a lot to reconcile many aggrieved members back to the fold of PDP. But while appearing to be working for the party, Olanusi had his own plans.
Part of the allegations against him was that he had plans to upstage the governor.
According to insinuations, his aim was to become the governor of the state, even if it is for two years. Allegations also had it that Olanusi left PDP to spite Mimiko and had gone on air to appeal to the people of the state to support his move by removing his boss from office, so that peace could reign in the state. Critics believe that the deputy governor, who is a seasoned politician and old member of the PDP before teaming up with Mimiko to form Labour Party (LP), is doing everything he can to realise his goal.
Investigations by TheNiche revealed that the deputy governor, serving commissioners and some close aides of the governor had been having secret meetings with APC in the state, and some of them have been pencilled for positions in the event of the party having its way. Although these commissioners have not declared their intention openly to join APC, there are allegations that their bodies and souls are in the opposition party.
Given the unfolding power game in the state, there are fears that if the deputy governor does not throw in his resignation letter and walk out honourably, the angry lawmakers, some of who did not return to the House due to the role ascribed to the deputy governor, may have no choice than to impeach him as a way of revenge on what he (Alli) was said to have done to them.