A civil society group, Ondo State Concerned Youth for Good Governance, has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olamide Adesanmi Oladiji, the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Gbegudu Ololade, and the Clerk of the House, Jayeola B.T., Esq., of allegedly conspiring to forge the signatures of lawmakers to fraudulently amend and approve a budget involving N70 billion without the knowledge or approval of members of the state legislature.
The petition, dated July 27, 2026, was addressed to the Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC, Ado-Ekiti Zonal Directorate, signed by Abel Kosoko, Esq., counsel to Ondo State Concerned Youth for Good Governance.
According to the petition obtained by SaharaReporters, the group alleged that the three principal officers of the Assembly carried out the fraudulent act on December 11, 2025, by forging the signatures of members of the Ondo State House of Assembly to pass an amended budget of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC).
The petition explained that the document was presented as a House Resolution bearing Reference Number ODHA/98/253/271, titled: “Request for House of Assembly Resolution to Amend and Re-direct Certain Line Items in the 2025 Approved OSOPADEC Budget.”
According to the petitioners, the purported resolution was used to amend and redirect the OSOPADEC budget despite the absence of a duly convened plenary session or formal legislative proceedings involving members of the House.
The petition stated that a copy of the alleged resolution, marked “Annexure HR,” was attached as evidence.
The solicitors noted that the names of all members of the Ondo State House of Assembly appeared on the extract supporting the resolution, but their signatures were forged to create the impression that the lawmakers participated in and approved the legislative action.
The petition further claimed that, apart from the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and the Clerk, no other member of the House attended any sitting or plenary on the date the resolution was purportedly passed.
The petition reads in part: “On 11th December 2025, the trio of the Speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly, the Deputy Speaker and the Clerk of the House jointly and severally conspired amongst themselves to forge the signatures of other Honourable members of the Ondo State House of Assembly to pass an amended budget of OSOPADEC which was tagged ‘HOUSE RESOLUTION’ with Ref No: ODHA/98/253/271.
“By the purported resolution, the said budget of OSOPADEC was amended and re-directed and sanctioned without prior formal notice of meeting or sitting by the members of the Ondo State House of Assembly. The purported resolution was carried out with the names of all the Honourable members of the Ondo State House of Assembly and their signatures were forged on the extract in support of the said resolution.”
The petitioners further stated that legislative procedures were completely bypassed in approving the budget adjustment.
According to them, the 2025 OSOPADEC Adjusted Recurrent Expenditure Detail, which formed the basis of the resolution, ought to have been subjected to legislative debate, scrutiny and voting by members of the House before any approval could be granted.
The petition stated that the expenditure document, attached as “REP,” contained budget adjustments that should ordinarily have been examined during a properly constituted plenary session.
The lawyers argued that under normal parliamentary practice, lawmakers are expected to examine every budget line, debate its merits, and where disagreements arise, subject the proposals to voting before any resolution can be validly adopted.
They maintained that none of those constitutional and legislative procedures was followed.
The petition further reads, “It is important to state further that the 2025 OSOPADEC Adjusted Recurrent Expenditure Detail which was the thrust of the purported resolution ought to be discussed in the course of normal official business of the Ondo State House of Assembly wherein members will be able to discuss, digest and scrutinize the items under each head before a resolution could be reached and where the House did not agree, such will be subjected to vote by all the members of the parliament.”
The petitioners noted that the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Clerk manipulated the legislative institution to facilitate what they described as a fraudulent appropriation involving N70 billion.
They stated: “Gleaning from the above grounds, it is crystal clear that the trio of the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, the Deputy Speaker and the Clerk of the House jointly and severally conspired to forge the signatures of the Honourable members and fraudulently manipulated the institution of the Ondo State House of Assembly to pass a fraudulent resolution wherein a huge amount of money to the tune of N70,000,000,000 was appropriated without the approval of the House.”
The group urged the anti-graft agency to launch a comprehensive investigation into the activities of the Assembly leadership during the period in question, insisting that only a thorough probe could establish the authenticity of the allegations and protect public funds.
The petition also emphasised that the objective of the complaint was to promote accountability and ensure that public resources are managed transparently through constitutionally recognised legislative processes.
The petition urged the EFCC to deploy its investigative powers to determine the veracity of the allegations, noting that such an investigation would strengthen governance and public confidence in the state’s democratic institutions.
Last Tuesday, SaharaReporters reported that the political crisis rocking the Ondo State House of Assembly had intensified as 21 lawmakers reaffirmed their determination to impeach the Speaker, Oladiji, despite alleged efforts by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to frustrate the planned removal.
The lawmakers accused the Speaker of financial misconduct, alleging that he misappropriated ₦44 million linked to OSOPADEC.Â
Meanwhile, they insisted that they had already secured the required number of signatures to commence impeachment proceedings against him.
Speaking on behalf of the lawmakers, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Olatunji Fabiyi, disclosed that the Assembly had issued Oladiji a seven-day ultimatum to resign or face impeachment.
Fabiyi said no fewer than 21 of the 26 members of the Assembly had endorsed the impeachment notice, stressing that the Speaker had lost the confidence of the overwhelming majority of lawmakers.
(SaharaReporters)