Rt Honourable Debo Ogundoyin, Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, on Thursday, escaped impeachment by members of the assembly following the intervention of Governor Seyi Makinde.
The governor’s intervention came during a meeting held with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) caucus of the house members at the Governor’s Office, Agodi, after the lawmakers were said to have met in the morning to perfect the removal of the speaker.
Sources at the meeting with the governor told Nigerian Tribune that the members had heated arguments, while some of them believed that the Speaker had dragged the assembly in the mud and should be relieved of the post.
However, after the members present at the meeting had presented their positions, with some of them expressing disappointment at Ogundoyin, the governor was said to have calmed them and pleaded on his behalf.
The source noted that much consideration was given to the interest of the state and that of the ruling party in shelving the idea of impeaching the Speaker.
However, Makinde’s intervention appears to have drawn a firm line that has now put an end to the crisis as he directed all members of the Assembly to close ranks with the existing House leadership under the Speaker.
The governor reportedly emphasised the need for unity, discipline, and stability within both the legislature and the party.
The directive, it was gathered, effectively shut down any ongoing moves toward impeachment, with lawmakers said to have agreed to abide by the governor’s position.
The source said, “It (the impeachment saga) has been resolved in the interest of the state, yes, the Speaker was advised to step aside, but with the intervention of the governor, we have to take so many things into consideration and shelve the idea.
“We are going into election period and the state is more important than any person, so that idea was put aside in the interest of the state and for unity and peace in the house because we would not want the opposition to take advantage of the situation on ground. The governor has invited him to meet with some Ibadan leaders to plead for him.”
Tension was said to have risen among the lawmakers earlier in the day at a meeting held in the office of the
Speaker at the parliament building to deliberate on the development.
Some members at the meeting were said to have insisted that the Speaker be removed and replaced with another member because of the belief that he was actually induced to impeach the governor.
However, while the details of the governor’s engagement with the lawmakers remained largely behind closed doors, multiple sources confirmed that the outcome reaffirmed confidence in the current leadership of the assembly and reinforced the governor’s preference for internal cohesion over political brinkmanship.
