Mohammed O. Taoheed Reports
The embattled Speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olakunle Oluomo may lose his seat as members of the Assembly are collating signatures to impeach him, we can reliably gathered.
Recall that, the Speaker was arrested by officials of the EFCC at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Wednesday morning and secretly flown to Abuja, and was released on Friday evening on administrative bail.
He was said to have been on the wanted list of the commission following his failure to honour the EFCC’s invitation several times.
Oluomo and others (yet to be named) were accused of forging signatures and financial documents belonging to the state Assembly.
However, the political career of the Speaker seems to be in jeopardy as some lawmakers have begun appending their signatures to process the impeachment move of the embattled speaker.
Some lawmakers who spoke with our reporter on condition of anonymity for fear of attack or lobby by the executive said they are impeaching Oluomo on a 13-count charge.
The leader of the aggrieved lawmakers who spoke with us on the telephone said Oluomo misled the House and allegedly forged members’ signatures to perpetrate fraud.
According to the lawmaker, the 13-count charge borders on falsification/tampering with the House Standing Order.
He claimed that the Speaker in connivance with the Clerk, allegedly falsified the current Standing Order of the House before the commencement of the 9th Assembly, to favour his election as the Speaker and disqualified others to contest, amongst other contents.
Other allegations are; “Falsification of Financial Autonomy Bill after passage; S.7(4) of Ogun State Legislative Funds Management Bill, was falsified for personal/selfish grounds. After the passage on the floor of the House, he falsified the contents in his favor before sending a clean copy to the Government for assent. The section was about his Approval Limit as Speaker. He also deleted the section that required quarterly accountability of the Finances of the House’s funds
“Illegal impeachment of the former Deputy Speaker for personal vendetta on unjustifiable grounds of “gross misconducts”. There was no voting to impeach because they didn’t have the number, just collated signatures under threat and used the Governor’s body language to force most members to sign.
TrackNews Nigeria further gathered that “Alteration of the Resolution of the House on Bond approved for the Executive. House approved N100Billion specifically requested in the letter of the Governor but he single-handedly alter N200 Billion in tranches of N100B
“Misappropriation of N18.6 Million monthly, which is the leftovers from the House monthly Running Cost of N85 Million.
“Forged Receipts & Invoices (5 Ghana Must Go Bags) to cover up for a total of N18.6Million monthly for 18 months when EFCC requested for retired receipts. Part of it was fake receipts from President Obasanjo’s Petrol Station, Former Ogun State Speaker, as well as many fictitious Hotels e.t.c
“He forged all Members’ signatures on different vouchers, claiming they collected different monies at different times, even for International traveling during Covid-19 lockdown. Different signatures for different vouchers for the same Members.
“Diversion of Funds meant for local/International travel, fueling of the generator, amongst others, to private accounts connected to Mr. Speaker and Mr. Clerk during Covid-19 period.
“EFCC invited Speaker and members for simple questioning to identify their respective signatures, he quickly ran to court for an injunction to stop the invitation. He instituted a Civil case in court against EFCC on behalf of the whole house, without the Members’ Consent nor Power of Attorney.
“Oba’s bill; he illegally changed a Section of the Bill as relating to Burial Rites, contrary to the unanimous agreement of Members of the Committee as regards the Burial Rites of Traditional Rulers
“Speaker led 15 members ONLY to sit on a Friday (5th of August, 2022) non-legislative sitting day, to pass a SUPPLEMENTARY BUDGET against the Constitutional and Conventional requirement of 18 Members to pass a Monetary bill, after collecting a bribe of N1.5 million each from Mr. Governor to hurriedly pass it before the weekend.
“2022 Constitutional Amendment of Bill #26. Only about 6 members voted in Favour, but Speaker told the Clerk to alter the record to reflect 18 members who voted in favor. Despite a Member raising a Point of Order on the Votes and Proceedings record, Speaker still unlawfully transmitted the record of “18 members votes” to the National Assembly, Abuja.
“13 Members signed a Letter of Request for change of Principal Officers, but he sat on it and refused to attend to it, which is against the Standing Rules of the House.”
Meanwhile, the anti-graft agency will today arraign the Speaker in Lagos over alleged financial crimes, an impeccable source within the anti-graft agency confirmed to journalists on Saturday night.
The source, who pleaded anonymity, noted that the agency was leaving no stone unturned in its bid to arraign the Chief lawmaker, adding that some political actors had been making efforts to stall the arraignment.
He said, “We’re leaving no stone unturned concerning this Oluomo’s matter. He will be arraigned in court in Lagos State on Monday or later in the week, as we’re currently preparing charges against him.
“We’re arraigning him in Lagos because it’s a jurisdictional matter. Some highly placed personality are doing everything to frustrate his arraignment, but he’s expected to go explain or defend himself in court on Monday.”
