Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A civic organisation has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing the leadership of the Ondo State House of Assembly of 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, submitted by the Ondo State Concerned Youth for Good Governance, asks the anti-graft agency to investigate Speaker Olamide Adesanmi Oladiji, Deputy Speaker Hon. Gbegudu Ololade, and the Clerk of the House, Jayeola B.T., Esq., over alleged forgery and fraudulent alteration of the 2025 budget of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC). The development adds a new twist to a leadership crisis that has rocked the Assembly for months, coming barely days after 21 lawmakers moved to remove Mr Oladiji over separate allegations involving the handling of OSOPADEC funds.
According to the petition, dated July 27, 2026, and addressed to the EFCC's Ado-Ekiti Zonal Directorate, the three principal officers allegedly 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 OSOPADEC. 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." The petitioners alleged that the 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. According to the petition, the disputed resolution was presented as an official decision of the House despite the absence of a properly convened plenary where members could debate and approve the proposed changes. The group argued that any alteration to the commission's budget should have followed legislative procedures requiring debate and approval during plenary, insisting that no such sitting took place.
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. "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," the petition read. "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 maintained that this sophisticated manipulation effectively bypassed mandatory constitutional procedures, deliberately excluding representatives from the deeply affected oil-producing communities from their fundamental oversight responsibilities. The petition added another layer to allegations first raised by Ondo lawmaker Olawumi Fayemi-Obayelu, who accused the Speaker of forging a House resolution used to alter the multi-billion-naira OSOPADEC budget. Fayemi-Obayelu maintained that the Assembly never sat on the date indicated in the disputed resolution and said attendance records and legislative proceedings would show that lawmakers neither debated nor approved the budget adjustments attributed to the House. She also alleged that lawmakers representing oil-producing communities were excluded from legislative oversight of the commission despite occupying relevant committee positions.
The petition stated that 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 petitioners further stated that legislative procedures were completely bypassed in approving the budget adjustment. The group urged the EFCC to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the alleged forgery and determine whether public funds were unlawfully diverted, stressing that accountability and due process must be upheld.
The allegations come amid an ongoing leadership crisis in the Ondo State House of Assembly. Last week, 21 of the 26 lawmakers moved to remove Mr Oladiji over separate allegations involving the handling of OSOPADEC funds, further intensifying the political crisis that has paralysed legislative activities in the state. The lawmakers have accused the Speaker of attempting to fast-track bills despite the perceived poor performance of the 2025 budget. In their petition, the lawmakers accused the Speaker of diverting N50 million allocated for a public hearing and misappropriating monthly operational grants of the House. The escalating revolt effectively strips the Speaker of his operational majority, rendering the legislative chamber functionally paralyzed amid the swirling allegations of fiscal misconduct.
Speaking on calls for the EFCC to investigate the Assembly's finances, the Speaker had earlier said this would be a welcome development, adding that the House has nothing to hide. "Let them invite the EFCC; we welcome it. The agency will trace every kobo. The issue is not corruption; it is personal interest, and it is just too early," Mr Oladiji had said in a previous interview.
The target of the alleged budgetary manipulation—OSOPADEC—was specifically mandated to remediate the profound environmental degradation and severe poverty afflicting the state's coastal hydrocarbon extraction zones. The diversion or unlawful appropriation of N70 billion directly deprives highly vulnerable riverine communities of critical infrastructure, healthcare, and educational investments. Development economists note that specialised regional intervention funds frequently suffer from catastrophic oversight failures. The sheer volume of liquid capital flowing into these localised commissions routinely attracts sophisticated political hijacking if stringent, independent auditing frameworks are not rigorously enforced.
As of the time of this report, the officials named in the petition have not publicly responded to the allegations beyond the Speaker's earlier comments, and the claims remain subject to investigation by the EFCC. The petition adds another layer to the mounting pressure on the Assembly leadership, and the outcome of the EFCC's investigation could have significant implications for the political landscape in Ondo State. With the Assembly deeply fractured and the Speaker facing calls for his removal from a majority of lawmakers, the forgery allegations have further undermined public confidence in the integrity of the state's legislative process. The people of Ondo State, particularly those in the oil-producing communities, await the outcome of the EFCC's investigation, hoping that justice will prevail and that those responsible for any wrongdoing will be held accountable.
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