Gbenro Adesina
There was drama on Tuesday 7, 2020 at the Ondo State House of Assembly in the bid to impeach the embattled Deputy Governor of the state, Agboola Ajayi.
Trouble started for Ajayi when he recently defected from the ruling party, All Progressive Congress (APC), to the opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP). This action was viewed as by the APC as the height of disloyalty to a party under which he won the seat of the state deputy governor.
Sequel to this, a letter of impeachment notice signed by 14 members of the House was sent to him to intimate him of commencement of impeachment process.
According to the undated notice of impeachment, the deputy governor was accused of gross misconduct, abuse of office with actions likely to bring down Ondo State Government, financial recklessness, abandonment of office, official duty, and other assignments.
Other allegations include actions on Sunday 21 June, 2020 likely to cause breach of peace, publication dated Tuesday 23, June 2020, petition from APC Ondo Chapter on his alleged movement to PDP having been sworn-in as the deputy governor on the party’s ticket with the Governor for a four year term.
However, the impeachment was punctured by the remaining nine legislators in a letter dated July 7, 2020, dissociating themselves from the impeachment process.
According to the letter addressed to the Clerk of the House and titled, “Dissociating from Impeachment Process of Ondo State Deputy Governor, Hon. Afred Adegbola Ajayi”, the nine legislators stated that they did not support the impeachment process and would not want to be associated with it based on personal conviction.
Earlier, Ajayi, who is at the centre of the saga, had sought the protection of the court of law from both law enforcement agents and any plan by the state House of Assembly to impeach him.
According to a court process dated June 26, 2020 signed by 11 counsels of the deputy governor, he asked the court to restrain the state House of Assembly from impeaching him as well as law enforcement agents from arresting, detaining or intimidating him in whatever form.
Lead counsel to Ajayi is Dr J. O. Olatoke (SAN).
