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.
