
The Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Mr.
Najeem Salaam, said on Wednesday that the assembly
had received a petition from Justice Folahanmi Oloyede,
calling for the impeachment of Governor Rauf
Aregbesola because of alleged financial recklessness.
Oloyede is a serving judge in the Osun State judiciary.
The judge’s petition read in part, “Consequently, the
admitted inability of Mr. Governor and his deputy to pay
pensions, salaries and allowances for periods ranging
from eight to 11 months now as a consequence of their
own decision to accumulate debts beyond the capacity
of the state’s internally generated revenue, whilst the
very ‘actors’, Mr. Governor and his deputy, continue to
enjoy their security allowances in hundreds of millions,
is a violation of their oaths of office.
“Their action in this respect is as illegal as it is immoral
and unconscionable. It is an evidence of their inability to
discharge the functions of their office. There is therefore
no legal or moral basis for their continued stay in office.
“To this end and for this reason, I am sure other well-
meaning and concerned members of the Osun
community are hereby calling on honourable members
of the state House of Assembly to pick up the gauntlet
and redeem themselves, by giving effect to the
provisions of Sections 128 and 129 of the Constitution,
which empower them to investigate and bring to justice,
all those who have corruptly enriched themselves at the
expense of Osun and her people.’’
Salam, who confirmed to our correspondent in an
interview on Wednesday that the assembly had received
the petition, said the House would write a letter of
acknowledgement to the petitioner and write the
governor to defend himself against the allegations
contained in the letter.
The Speaker said, “Yes, we received the petition and we
acknowledged it. But there is nothing we can do now
because of the strike. Workers’ strike is affecting our
sittings.
“We will send a copy of the petition to the governor for
his defence. We will deliberate on it by the time the
strike is over.”
The Clerk of the House of Assembly also confirmed the
receipt of the petition in a separate interview with our
correspondent.
Oyeniran said, “It is true we received a petition and we
are working on it.”
The Minority Leader, Mr. Oladejo Makinde, who is a
member of the Peoples Democratic Party, said he was
not aware of the petition but said the House would
deliberate on it by the time the lawmakers started
sitting.
Efforts to get the governor’s reaction to this allegation
were unsuccessful as calls and text messages sent to his
media aide, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, were not responded
to.
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