Ondo deputy governor, Olanusi, impeached

The Ondo state house of assembly has impeached Ali Olanusi, the deputy governor.

Twenty-two out of the 26 lawmakers endorsed the impeachment motion moved by Henry Akinsoyinu,the majority leader and seconded by Oyebo Aladetan, deputy majority leader.

The house had earlier directed Olasehinde Kumuyi, chief judge of the state, to set up a probe panel to investigate seven impeachable offences levelled against Olanusi.

Kumuyi complied with the directive by setting up a seven-man panel on Friday.

Chaired by Olatunji Adeniyan, the panel submitted its report to the house earlier on Monday.

Jumoke Akindele, speaker of the assembly, adopted the motion, declaring that Olanusi had been “impeached and removed from office”.

She directed him to hand over the properties of government within his possession to the permanent secretary in his former office.

Olanusi fell out with Mimiko after defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) two days before the 2015 presidential election, which was won by candidate of his new party, Muhammadu Buhari.

He had told his supporters that the lack of equity in the PDP necessitated his decision to dump the party.

“While still being in place as the democratically elected deputy governor of Ondo state, I have decided to lead my teeming supporters and well wishers in the state into the All Progressive Congress (APC) where we can find justice, fairness, equity and democratic liberty, a party to which majority of our kith and kin in Yorubaland belongs,” he had said.

“I have taken this decision at this critical time, in the best interest of peace, stability and good governance of our dear state and for the overall development of the south west and the nation.”

“They (his followers) have watched helplessly in the last six years the untold marginalisation and total exclusion from the government they laboured to put in place.”

Olanusi was the running mate of Mimiko on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) in 2007 and became deputy governor in 2009 after the court of appeal declared Mimiko winner of the 2007 governorship election in the state.

He has been deputy since 2009 after the pair won the election in 2014. They both defected to PDP in October 2014 from the Labour Party, although Olanusi did not favour the defection.

Olanusi comes next in line to Sunday Onyebuchi, the immediate past deputy governor of Enugu state, who was impeached on August 26, 2014, after falling out with Sullivan Chime, governor of the state.