Youth Group Asks EFCC to Investigate Ondo Assembly Leaders Over N70bn Fraud Claims

A civic group has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to look into top officials of the Ondo State House of Assembly. They are accused of forgery and changing the N70 billion 2025 budget of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) in a fraudulent way.

This situation adds a new twist to the leadership problems that have troubled the House of Assembly for months.

The petition was given to the EFCC by the Ondo State Concerned Youth for Good Governance. They want the EFCC to investigate Speaker Olamide Oladiji, Deputy Speaker Ololade Gbegudu, and the Clerk of the House, Benjamin Jayeola.

This comes just days after 21 lawmakers tried to remove Mr Oladiji due to different allegations about how OSOPADEC funds were managed. This has made the political crisis even worse and has stopped legislative work in the state.

Reports say the petition, which was sent to the EFCC's Ekiti Zonal Directorate, claims that the Assembly's leaders worked together to create a House resolution. This resolution was used to change parts of the OSOPADEC budget without lawmakers' approval.

The petition states that the disputed resolution, dated 11 December 2025, was presented as an official decision of the House. But there was no proper meeting where members could discuss and approve the changes.

The petitioners claim that the signatures on the document were forged. They urged the EFCC to check if the alleged wrongdoing led to the misdirection or illegal use of public funds.

"Based on the above points, it is clear that the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, the Deputy Speaker, and the Clerk all worked together to forge the signatures of the Honourable members and fraudulently manipulated the House to pass a fake resolution where N70,000,000,000 was taken without the House's approval," the petition said.

The group insists that any changes to the commission’s budget should follow the right legislative steps. They argued that debate and approval during a meeting are required, and no meeting took place.

This petition adds to earlier claims made by Ondo lawmaker Olawumi Fayemi-Obayelu. She accused the Speaker of forging a House resolution to change the multi-billion-naira OSOPADEC budget.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Ms Fayemi-Obayelu said the Assembly never met on the date mentioned in the disputed resolution. She stated that attendance records and meeting notes would show that lawmakers neither discussed nor approved the budget changes attributed to the House.

She also claimed that lawmakers from oil-producing areas were left out of monitoring the commission, even though they held important committee roles.

The latest petition comes as Mr Oladiji faces increasing pressure from within the Assembly. Last week, 21 out of 26 lawmakers called for the Speaker's resignation over separate claims involving the handling of N44 million meant for adjusting the 2026 OSOPADEC budget.

The House later postponed Monday’s meeting indefinitely until there is a leadership change.

The lawmakers said the Speaker has lost the trust of most members. They vowed to go ahead with impeachment if he does not step down, despite reported efforts by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to resolve the issue.

But Speaker Oladiji has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. He called the claims that he manipulated the OSOPADEC budget and mismanaged Assembly funds false, malicious, and politically driven.

He mentioned, "Honourable members manage, decide, and agree on their internal welfare and resource allocations without interference from the Speaker’s office."

The Speaker insisted there is no leadership crisis in the Assembly. He also said that the financial processes of the Assembly are in line with legislative procedures.

Meanwhile, OSOPADEC has distanced itself from the issue, stating it has no involvement in the internal matters of the House of Assembly. The commission emphasized that its dealings with the legislature followed proper administrative rules and warned against linking it to the allegations about the disputed budget resolution.