Aiyedatiwa: Ondo CJ declines to constitute probe panel

The impeachment process against the Deputy Governor of Ondo, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, may have hit the rocks, as the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Olusegun Odusola, was said to have declined to constitute a seven-man panel of enquiry.

The State House of Assembly had directed the Chief Judge to set up a panel to probe the embattled deputy governor of the state within seven days, but a source within the House of Assembly disclosed that the process has been halted.

An official of the House of Assembly said Justice Odusola had advised the House and the Speaker to make efforts to vacate the order of the Abuja Federal High Court presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite, saying it’s an irreducible precondition for him to obey the Assembly’s directive.

He said, “The CJ has reached out to Mr. Speaker that he cannot set up a 7-member panel to probe the deputy governor as directed by the House, claiming that his hands are tied by the interim order issued by Justice Emeka Nwite, stopping the impeachment process.

Confirming the receipt of the Chief Judge’s letter, the Majority Leader of the House of Assembly, Hon. Oluwole Ogunmolasuyi, said the lawmakers will not be deterred by the new development but said they will follow due process.

He maintained that the lawmakers will follow due process in line with Section 188(2) (a) & (b) of the 1999 Constitution and said “the Assembly has not breached any of the process”.

He said; “We will follow the due process and obey the law of the land, no matter how the hindrance might be”.