The Oyo State House of Assembly has, on Wednesday, directed the Chief Judge to set up a seven-man panel to investigate the Deputy Governor, Rauf Olaniyan, over allegations of gross misconduct, and report back to it in three months.
The motion was jointly sponsored by the Majority Leader, Hon Sanjo Adedoyin and Hon Akintunde Olajide (Lagelu).
The order came despite a prior order from the court that the Assembly maintains status quo on the impeachment proceedings, as it had adjourned till Wednesday to hear the originating summons and interlocutory injunctions brought by Olaniyan.
A correspondence/petition titled: “Notice of Allegations of Gross Misconduct Against the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Engr Rauf Olaniyan” had been read at the floor of the plenary on the 17th of June, 2022.
In the petition, 23 members accused the Deputy Governor of gross misconduct, abuse of office, financial recklessness, abandonment of office and insubordination.
The House, thereafter, served the Deputy Governor and all other members of the legislature a copy of the allegations.
While reading the motion, the Majority Leader said the Deputy Governor had not responded to the copy of the allegations served him by the House.
A claim that contradicts an earlier report by the House that the Deputy Governor had submitted a response to the allegations levelled against him by the lawmakers.
The motion reads: “With this development, the House needs to invoke the provision specified in Section 188(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
“Though Asimiyu Alarape, APC lawmaker and Minority Leader, opposed the pronouncement, the motion to the CJ to investigate Olaniyan was passed, as moved by the majority of the lawmakers.
“In accordance with the provision of section 188(4) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) to request the Chief Judge of Oyo State to appoint panel of 7 persons of unquestionable integrity to investigate the allegations of gross misconduct against the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, His Excellency, Engr Rauf Olaniyan; and the panel to report its findings to the House within 3months of its appointment,” the motion reads in part.
In his reaction, the Speaker, Adebo Ogundoyin, said the issue was no more in the House as it has been handed over to the state Chief Judge, Justice Muntar Abimbola.
He noted that the House has not said the state Deputy Governor is guilty or not, as the issue would be determined by the seven member panel to be constituted by the Chief Judge.
He stated: “We are only working in line with the constitution. Once the report is submitted within or at the expiration of the 3months, that’s what we are going to act upon. We are not in a position to judge in this case.
“We will ensure due process is followed. The vote was unanimous and we shall wait for the outcome of the report and investigation of the panel.”
The House has adjourned till the 19th of July, 2022.
Olaniyan had dragged the Assembly to court following the allegations levelled against him few days after he ditched the PDP for the opposition, All Progressives Congress, APC.
The court had adjourned till Wednesday to allow the appellant’s lawyers reply to the defendants’ responses in the case presided over by Justice Oladiran Akintola of the Oyo State High Court.
At the court, on Wednesday, a new twist was added to the case when the lawmaker representing Oorelope State Constituency, Lateef Adebunmi, filed an application before the court to be joined as a co-defendant in the matter.
While the counsel to Olaniyan, Chief Afolabi Fashanu, asked that he be allowed time to respond appropriately to the application, having been served in court on Wednesday morning, the counsel to the defendants, Otunba Kunle Kalejaiye, opposed the application on the ground that the applicant is not relevant to the matter.
Adebunmi’s counsel, Sunday Aborishade, told the court that not granting the application to be joined in the matter before hearing the substantive suit by the court would amount to injustice and denial of fair hearing, noting that the implications of the matter has been deposited before the court.
The case however got yet another twist when the counsel to Olaniyan called the attention of the court to the online reports of the directive of the Oyo Assembly to the CJ to set up a panel to investigate Olaniyan.
As at the time of filing this report, the judge ordered a recess to write his rulings on the application by the lawmaker to be joined as the fourth defendant in the suit.
S.O
