The inauguration of the 10th State House of Assembly in Ogun State has been postponed till June 20, 2023.
The event was earlier scheduled to hold on Tuesday (today), but reports claimed that it was rescheduled after a consensus could not be reached in the legislature.
The postponement followed strong opposition against the candidate anointed as the Speaker by Governor Dapo Abiodun.
It was gathered that the outgoing Speaker, Olakunle Oluomo, who is also running for re-election is embroiled in a stiff survival battle ahead of the inauguration.
Oluomo is currently in court for allegedly diverting N2.5 billion belonging to the Assembly. Reports made available to newsmen by people in the know, however, revealed that Oluomo who narrowly won the election for the Ifo I constituency during the March 18 election, may not return as the Speaker except for last-minute resolve between him and his opponents.
Of all the 26 seats in the House, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) secured 17, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won nine seats.
It was reported that forces within the ruling party and some of the members-elect who were part of the defunct ninth assembly are displeased with Oluomo’s ‘leadership style’.
Last year, about 16 lawmakers reportedly appended their signatures consenting to impeach the Speaker, but he escaped the plot.
Already, an erstwhile Deputy Speaker of the House, Oludaisi Elemide, has joined the speakership race and he is considered a major threat to Oluomo’s re-election.
Elemide, a loyalist of the former Governor Olusegun Osoba, stepped down for Oluomo to emerge as the Speaker unopposed during the inauguration of the ninth legislature on June 10, 2019.
The three-time lawmaker, representing the Odeda constituency, has the backing of some aggrieved lawmakers to unseat Oluomo, insiders told Daily Trust.
Other sources, however, said Oluomo had secured the buy-in of Governor Dapo Abiodun to return as the Speaker.
The 17 members-elect of APC had been divided by Oluomo and Elemide, leaving the PDP members to decide where the pendulum would swing.
Both Oluomo and Elemide are from Ogun Central, the region expected to produce the speaker in line with the zoning arrangement.
