Ondo deputy governor withdraws suit against impeachment
Tamarauemi Ebimini
Ondo State Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has withdrawn a suit seeking to restrain the chief judge of the state from setting up a panel to investigate allegations made against him by the state House of Assembly.
Mr Aiyedatiwa had filed many suits to halt a move by the state House of Assembly to remove him from office for alleged gross misconduct.
On Tuesday, he filed the notice of discontinuation of the case at the State High Court in Akure, following which the judge, O. Akintan-Osadebay, struck out the suit.
The deputy governor had in the application dated October 13, asked the court to interpret section 188 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, and determine if the chief judge can extend the seven days given him by the lawmakers to set up a panel to probe the allegations against him.
However, at the resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday, Mr Aiyedatiwa’s counsel, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, moved the motion to withdraw the application.
The counsel to the State House of Assembly, Femi Emodamori, did not oppose the motion.
The court had last week fined Mr Aiyedatiwa the sum of N200,000 over the absence of his legal team in the court.
It would also be recalled that on Monday, the Ondo State High Court 4 presided over by Justice D.I. Kolawole refused to rule on a similar application brought by Mr Adegboruwa, for the interpretion of section 188 of the constitution as amended.
This was after the counsel to the State House of Assembly, Mr Emodamori, vehemently opposed the application.
He argued that since Mr Aiyedatiwa had sued the chief judge “for himself and all the judges of Ondo State High Court” in his counterclaim, the judges could not adjudicate the case.
Mr Kolawole then directed all the parties to maintain the peace, and adjourned the case till 22 November to enable parties file relevant processes and documents.
The latest move by the deputy governor may be connected to the efforts by the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress to resolve the dispute between the deputy governor and party leaders in the state.
The House of Assembly had demanded that Mr Aiyedatiwa withdraw all the suits he filed against it, in deference to the intervention of the ruling party.
