The All Progressives Congress in Ondo State has said that the state Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, should be the one facing impeachment by the state House of Assembly for committing impeachable offences, and not his deputy, Alhaji Ali Olanusi.
This, the party argued, was because the deputy governor had not committed any impeachable offence.
In a telephone interview with our correspondent on Sunday, the spokesperson for the party in the state, Omoba Adesanya, accused the governor of masterminding the impeachment process against his deputy for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC.
He said, “The governor is annoyed that the deputy governor left for the APC, but nobody queried him when he left the Labour Party for the PDP. He shouldn’t forget so soon.
“He is annoyed and with the illegal support of the state House of Assembly, he is working hard to make sure that his deputy, who has committed no impeachable offence, is impeached.
“There is no way you can find the deputy governor guilty of any misconduct, mismanagement of funds or even criminal conduct. Rather, the governor has committed more than enough.
“Is it about the OSOPADEC issue, which is still pending before the EFCC, or the funds meant for the local governments and the ones accruing to the state, or his refusal to conduct local government elections? So, the governor has committed more than enough impeachable offences and should be facing impeachment now.”
Responding to the allegations, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Eni Akinsola, said the governor would not join issues with the APC or anything that had to do with the impeachment.
He said, “Impeachment is a constitutional matter vested in the legislature, and the governor has been busy doing the job he was elected to do; delivering on the promises of democracy and working for the people. So, we are not interested in joining issues with anybody.
“If the APC says the governor has impeachable offences against him, they know what to do. In fact, some of their principal members said recently that they would impeach the governor. So, what are they talking about now? I think they should ask themselves the right questions.”
Meanwhile, the state APC has said it will resist efforts by the state House of Assembly to impeach Olanusi, saying the impeachment process is illegal.
The party also alleged that Mimiko had bribed the state Chief Judge, Olasehinde Kumuyi, and members of the panel set up to investigate the allegations raised against Olanusi by the state lawmakers.
But the Chief Press Secretary to the governor had denied all these allegations.
He said that the governor was not involved in the impeachment process and did not bribe anybody to remove the deputy governor.
However, in a statement on Sunday the party said the impeachment process was on a wrong premise, and that it would not accept the recommendations of the panel.
The statement signed by Adesanya partly read, “It should be noted that the deputy governor had on Friday, April 17, 2015, written to the governor, with Ref. No. OBG/A/136/67, notified him that he would be going for a routine medical check-up outside the country.
“So far, the deputy governor who had travelled since Saturday, April 18, 2105, was not aware of any impeachment notice or proceeding against him, as he has not been duly served. Therefore, he could not be expected to reply to allegations he is not aware of.
“To further display Mimiko’s desperation to unlawfully remove Olanusi from office, 48 hours after the purported service of impeachment notice on the deputy governor, who is not in the country, an investigative panel was constituted by the Chief Judge on April 23, 2105.
“The said panel, on the same day of its constitution, went ahead to paste a summons on the fence of the deputy governor’s residence to appear before it the following day, April 24, 2015. Why the hurry when the constitution allows for up to three months for the panel to do its findings, at which time the deputy governor would have come back.
“The kangaroo panel also concluded their investigations on the same day. Where is fair hearing in this matter? Why is due process not being followed?”
The statement added that not even the plea by the party’s lawyer, Benson Enikuomehin, could stop the panel, adding that the governor had also sacked political aides of his deputy. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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