… after meeting with APC national chairman, ex-Katsina gov, Masari
Ondo State House of Assembly, on Tuesday, agreed to stay action in the ongoing move to impeach the state’s Deputy Governor, Lucky Ayiedatiwa.
The agreement was reached after a closed-door meeting with the National Working Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress at the party’s natioynal Secretariat in Abuja.
Aiyedatiwa has been under the threat of impeachment by the House over allegations of gross misconduct and has been served with notice of the allegations levelled against him by the lawmakers.
The two-hour meeting had in attendance members of the APC NWC, the Aminu Bello Masari-led 9-man Reconciliation Committee, party state Chairman, Ade Adetimilehin and 18 of the 22 APC lawmakers led by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Oladeji Olamide.
Chairman of the Reconciliation Committee, Aminu Bello Masari, who addressed newsmen after the meeting, said that the APC national leadership was committed to finding a lasting solution to the crisis in the state.
Masari added that all actions towards the impeachment of the deputy governor have been put on hold to enable his committee to reach out to all stakeholders.
The former Katsina governor said, “We are working hard with the House of Assembly and the National leadership of the party to find a lasting solution to the crisis bedevilling our party and the government in Ondo state.
“All actions for the pros and against have been suspended for now to allow the committee to complete its work.
“The Speaker House of Assembly is here with us, he will collaborate with the leader of the party to see the final stand of the APC National Working Committee.”
Speaker Olamide, who admitted that the lawmakers were in Abuja at the instance of the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, and the Reconciliation Committee, said the lawmakers had agreed to cooperate with the party in finding a lasting solution to the crisis.
He said, “We were invited by the National chairman and the chairman of the Reconciliation Committee. We promised to work with the national chairman and the chairman of the reconciliation committee to find a lasting solution to the political crisis in Ondo State.
“We gave a promise that on our part, we are ready to cooperate as an arm of government with the party. At the same time, whenever they want to meet us, we will be of help to the committee.
“More importantly, we will allow the committee to do their work without hitches. Apart from that, we believe this is the only political solution that will be of help to resolve the crisis in Ondo State.”
APC National Chairman, who expressed appreciation to all the stakeholders in the crisis for allowing a political solution to the impasse in the state, said the decision by the lawmakers to ceasefire showed that they are democrats and committed party faithful.
Ganduje said he had received an interim report from the Masari-led committee, disclosing that the reconciliation committed had yet to meet with the embattled deputy governor and his boss, Governor Olwarotimi Akeredolu, but confirmed the ceasefire agreement reached with the lawmakers.
He said, “Now, having suspended the impeachment process, they (lawmakers) have created a conducive environment to continue dialoguing. We believe that we will reach a political solution.
“APC, as a political party, is an institution that is indispensable to democracy. Therefore, apart from our basic function for recruitment of membership, elected officers, and appointed officers, it is our responsibility to see that all the ethics of democracy are followed and crises averted in our government, both at the sub-national level and at the international level.
“It is a political crisis and we are a political institution. So there’s no way we can fold our arms and see that our children are fighting and we allow them to go like that.”