Governor Olusegun Mimiko has said before the 13 of the 26 members of the Ondo State House of Assembly decided to unconstitutionally impeach the Speaker, Mrs. Jumoke Akindele, she had accepted to step aside.
He said it was unconstitutional for 13 out of the 26 members of the Assembly to remove the Speaker since the law recommended two-thirds votes for such an exercise to be valid.
Mimiko spoke with State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting he had with the acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The governor, however, disclosed that as part of measures to resolve the crisis that had led to the closure of the Assembly complex, Akindele had already declared her readiness to step down.
Mimiko said, “The sitting Speaker now has made it abundantly clear that she is ready to step aside, she is ready to resign her position.
“But the group that purportedly impeached her, not even a simple majority can impeach the Speaker, it has to be two-thirds.
“That is to tell you about the fact that 13 out of 26 members of the House do not have the constitutional or legal empowerment to impeach the Speaker.
“But as I speak with you now, she is ready to step down any time, once the House is properly constituted.”
Asked if the Assembly crisis was what brought him to see the Acting President, Mimiko said: “It is an internal matter within the House and I think some elder statesmen and leaders in the state are looking at how they can help them to get over the crisis,” he said.
TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the Speaker was suspended on Friday January 27. She is also the first female in the state to have occupied the position.