From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Justice Ladiran Akintola of an Oyo State High Court, sitting in Ibadan, the state capital, has fixed Tuesday, July 26, 2022 for judgment in the suit filed by the deputy governor of the state, Rauf Olaniyan, against the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, the House of Assembly and the clerk of the assembly, to stop impeachment proceedings against him.
The matter came up for hearing of the originating summons before the court yesterday, during which the leading counsel to the parties adopted their written addresses and made their final submissions.
The counsel are Chief Afolabi Fashanu (SAN) for the deputy governor, who is the claimant in the litigation, and Otunba Kunle Kalejaiye (SAN), for the defendants. The defendants in the matter are the Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly (first defendant), Oyo State House of Assembly (second defendant), and the Clerk of the House of Assembly (third defendant). Before the adoption of final written addresses of the counsel, a member of Oyo State House of Assembly, Lateef Adebunmi, representing Orelope state constituency, through his lawyer, Sunday Aborishade, filed an application to join the suit as a co-defendant.
But Kalajaiye put up a vehement objection against it on the grounds that the court had a short time to hear the case and that the application was a delay tactic, which he said was immaterial to the suit. The court went into recess and on resumption, Justice Akintola said the applicant could be entertained based on certain grounds. But Fashanu also told the court that the Oyo State House of Assembly held a plenary yesterday, and a motion was raised, which was duly supported. The motion was for the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Munta Abimbola, to set up a seven-man committee to investigate the allegations raised against the deputy governor, which kick-started the impeachment process. But the judge held that the issues before the court be focused on.
But the court was silent on the order for the status quo to remain, which it gave last Tuesday, pending the hearing of the case, though the order was extended from Tuesday to yesterday.
Twenty-four lawmakers had levelled five allegations against Olaniyan, bordering on gross misconduct, abuse of office, financial recklessness, abandonment of office and official duty, as well as insubordination and other offences.
Speaking with journalists after the proceedings, Kalejaiye said the status quo that the court ordered was still intact as Olaniyan remains the deputy governor. He added that the order subsisted till the hearing of the case, and the case had been heard.
He stated that Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution empowers the lawmakers to remove governor or deputy governor by following eight steps. The House of Assembly, he said, is not an inferior tribunal to the judiciary, as the three arms of government have coordinate power. He added that the judiciary does not have power to stop the House of Assembly from carrying out its assigned constitutional roles.
But Fashanu said the order for status quo to be maintained would subsist till the judgment is delivered on July 26. He also said the action of the House of Assembly, directed at the Chief Judge, to set up an investigative panel on the allegations against the deputy governor would be challenged legally, because the court order against had not been vacated at the time the directive was given. The court, according to him, is to serve as checks to other arms of government under the principle of separation of power.