Olatunji Ifabiyi, the spokesperson for the Ondo State House of Assembly, says lawmakers will not hold a plenary until the speaker, Olamide Oladiji, resigns.

Mr Ifabiyi, in an interview on Monday in Akure, reiterated that the majority of the lawmakers supported the speaker’s removal.

The assembly has been in crisis following a call for the speaker’s resignation for the alleged unilateral reordering of the Ondo State Oil Producing Development Commission (OSOPADEC) 2025 budget of N9.2 billion.

Twenty-one out of the 26 members of the assembly signed a resolution to impeach the speaker if he failed to resign.

“We have resolved not to hold a plenary until there is a change of speaker. For now, there is no development except that Mr Speaker should just give way and allow another person to preside over the Ondo State House of Assembly.

“If he doesn’t resign, we will impeach him. If he fails to do the needful, we will do the needful,” he said.

A principal officer of the assembly, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the state executive had intervened in the crisis.

“There was a peace broker yesterday (Sunday) with the executive, and we are not permitted to disclose details of the outcome of the meeting.

“I don’t want to be the first to breach the agreement. But I can tell you that the matter has been resolved, but I will not tell you if it was in favour of anybody.

“We too implore internal mechanisms on the agitations in the House of the Assembly, and we are going to hold a plenary soon,” he stated.

The spokesperson, who did not disclose when the assembly would convene for plenary, stated that he was unaware of any meeting on Sunday with the state executive regarding the resolution of the crisis.

Mr Ifabiyi also said that an allegation of assassination on a member of the assembly had been reported to the appropriate authorities for investigation.

(NAN)