The Ondo State House of Assembly has debunked reports that it has suspended the impeachment process of the state Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the clarification was contained in a statement by its lawyer, Femi Emodamori, on Saturday.
The Assembly said it has meticulously complied with all the constitutional stages leading up to the obligation placed on the State Chief Judge to set up a 7-man Panel to investigate the allegations against the Deputy Governor.
The Assembly said it had, on September 20, 2023, received a notice of allegations of gross misconduct against the Deputy Governor, signed by 11 members of the House.
The Speaker of the House, in turn, served the notice on the Deputy Governor on September 25, 2023, and also caused it to be served on all the other members of the House, as required by the Constitution.
On October 3, 2023, 23 out of the 26 members of the House passed a motion for the investigation of the allegations and requested the State Chief Judge to set up the 7-man Panel to investigate same.
The Assembly said the Speaker also, on October 3, 2023, wrote to the State Chief Judge to set up the Panel.
The Assembly said it was at this stage that the Chief Judge replied, stating that he had received an ex parte Order which the Deputy-Governor secured from the Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court on September 26, 2023, restraining his lordship from setting up the Panel, pending when the Court would hear all the parties in the case to determine the merit of the application or the case filed by the Deputy-Governor.
The Assembly said Section 188(10) of the Constitution clearly states that “The proceedings or determination of the House or Panel or any matter relating to such proceedings or determination shall not be questioned or entertained in any court”, and there are too many judgments of the highest courts in Nigeria affirming that no court has the jurisdiction to dabble into an impeachment process, as long as the House of Assembly complies with all the constitutional process.
The Assembly said the Chief Judge himself stated in his reply to the Assembly that he was not unmindful of the above provisions of Section 188(10) of the Constitution and even quoted it verbatim.
However, the Chief Judge said that as a Chief Judge, he would prefer that the ex parte Order, which his lordship believes “tied his hand”, should first be vacated or set aside.
The Assembly said that in spite of their reservations about the position of the Honourable Chief Judge in the face of the clear provisions of Section 188(10) of the Constitution and the judgments of the appellate courts stating that no court has the power to question or entertain any matter relating to the impeachment, they would, for now, show sufficient understanding of the delicate position the Hon. Chief Judge has found himself, by promptly taking the necessary legal steps to vacate or quash the order and/or the entire suit at the Federal High Court, in order to untie the hands of his lordship and proceed with the impeachment to a logical conclusion.
The Assembly said the general public would recall that a similar suit instituted by the same Deputy Governor on the same subject matter at the Ondo State High Court was dismissed on October 10, 2023, for constituting an abuse of Court process, following a preliminary objection which the Assembly filed on behalf of itself.
