Ondo State Chief Judge, Justice Olusegun Odusola, has declined the order of the State House of Assembly, directing him to set up a panel to probe the embattled deputy governor of the state within for alleged gross misconduct.
Savannah News reliably gathered that
Justice Odusola had informed the Speaker of the State Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji, that he would not be able to set up any panel until Federal High Court order vacated.
Federal High Court in Abuja had restrained the Ondo State House of Assembly from impeaching the Deputy Governor, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
The judge also restrained Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu from nominating a new deputy governor and forwarding same to the lawmakers for approval pending the hearing and determination of the substantive matter.
It was gathered that Justice Odusola communicated his stance on the festering issue to Speaker Oladiji as the seven-day deadline handed down to him by the state legislature expired on Tuesday.
The Assembly, at its plenary on Tuesday, October 3, had ordered Odusola to set up a 7-member panel to investigate 14 allegations bordering on official misconduct slammed against Aiyedatiwa within seven days.
CJ Odusola advised the speaker to muster concerted efforts to vacate the order of the Abuja Federal High Court presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite, as an irreducible precondition for him to obey the Assembly’s directive.
He said, ” The CJ has reached out to Mr. Speaker that he cannot set up a 7-member panel to probe the deputy governor as directed by the House, claiming that his hands are tied by the interim order issued by Justice Emeka Nwite, stopping the impeachment process.
“The CJ further told Mr. Speaker that the House should make conscious efforts to remove that hurdle, otherwise he would not set up the panel. The CJ assured that the seven-day window for him to carry out the assignment would commence from the day the order of the Federal High Court is vacated.
“When the speaker drew the attention of the CJ to the action of the State High Court, which vacated similar order on Tuesday, he responded that the State High Court didn’t expressly directed him to act. So, the House would have to initiate moves to vacate the controversial order before we can make any headway on this matter,” added the lawmaker, who pleaded that his name should not be mentioned in print.
