No plan to impeach Ajimobi, says Oyo lawmaker

The job of Senator Abiola Ajimobi as governor of Oyo State is safe, a member of the state house of assembly has said.

Following the removal of Adamawa Governor Murtala Nyako and the impeachment notice served on Nasarawa Governor Umaru Al-Makura, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had raised the alarm that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was out to induce lawmakers to remove opposition governors.

It alleged that the President Goodluck Jonathan administration was trying to use impeachment to control more states ahead of the 2015 general election.

But Oyo lawmaker, Hon. Murphy Adigun-Ahmed, has said there was never a plan to move again Ajimobi.

Adigun-Hamed told NAN that the clarification was necessary to correct the impression which has been in the news.

He said: “We should be talking about moving the state forward; some people are just focusing on dragging us backward.”

He also said APC has control of the house, making impeachment impossible.

“APC has 18 out of 32 members, so how possible is it for them to impeach our governor? We know where this is coming from,” he said.

PDP has nine members while Accord Party has five ─ but 21 would be needed to remove the governor.

However, governors have been removed in the past despite their parties controlling a majority in the house.

In 2005, Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha was impeached as Bayelsa governor, allegedly under pressure from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Mr. Ayo Fayose was also impeached by the PDP-dominated Ekiti house of assembly in 2006, but the impeachments of Chief Joshua Dariye (Plateau) and Chief Rashidi Ladoja (Oyo) by PDP-dominated assemblies were overruled by the Supreme Court because of faulty processes.

A report in Sunday Punch said 24 members of the house of assembly, including 10 from APC, had been meeting secretly to hatch the plan to remove Ajimobi.