Bribery, Denials, and Power Games Rock Oyo: Inside the Plot to Impeach Seyi Makinde

A political storm of extraordinary proportions has engulfed Oyo State, with explosive allegations of bribery, royal intrigue, and opposition scheming swirling around a reported plot to remove Governor Seyi Makinde from office. In a remarkable series of disclosures and counter-denials that played out across Tuesday, the crisis has drawn in lawmakers, a former first lady, a revered monarch, and a former governor — painting a vivid picture of the high-stakes political warfare underneath Nigeria’s southwest.

The crisis did not begin with the impeachment rumours. Its seeds were planted days earlier when former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, made a striking allegation on social media. Fayose claimed that Governor Makinde was plotting the removal of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, alleging that a government query would be issued against the monarch citing his absence at a recent coronation ceremony of High Chiefs.
Both parties dismissed the allegation swiftly. Oyo State’s Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, said the government had never contemplated, discussed, or planned such an action, while the Olubadan’s media aide, Adeola Oloko, said he saw no cause for friction between the governor and the monarch.
Fayose, however, refused to back down. During a solidarity visit to the Olubadan at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan, Fayose insisted his claims were based on credible information, stressing that his disclosures were not speculative but rooted in facts from reliable sources.

The situation took a sharper turn when reports emerged accusing the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, of being at the centre of an alleged plan to remove the governor through the legislature.
Reports alleged that the Speaker had held a meeting with the Olubadan and former First Lady Florence Ajimobi in connection with a scheme to impeach Governor Makinde. The claims sent shockwaves through the state’s political establishment and triggered a rapid, simultaneous round of denials from multiple quarters.

In what quickly became the most sensational disclosure of the crisis, Speaker Ogundoyin confirmed that he had indeed been approached — but insisted he had rejected the overture.
Ogundoyin denied receiving any money from APC proxies, insisting that no money exchanged hands and that the rumours were fabricated to tarnish his image. “I was presented with juicy offers and opportunities, but I declined without hesitation because nothing can sway my conscience or weaken my loyalty to the governor, the party, and the people we were elected to serve,” he stated.
The Speaker also addressed the visit to the Olubadan, clarifying that the meeting was purely consultative and had taken place weeks earlier, and that he had visited the monarch to inform him of his 2027 governorship ambition and seek his blessings.

The Olubadan responded firmly to the allegations against him. In a statement through his media aide, Oba Ladoja dismissed claims he was plotting to impeach the governor, describing the allegation as false and constitutionally impossible — stressing that a traditional ruler has no power to impeach even a local government chairman, let alone a sitting state governor.
Former First Lady and Ambassador-designate to Austria, Florence Ajimobi, was equally forceful in her denial. Ajimobi called the claims “entirely false, baseless, and a deliberate act of disinformation,” emphasising that she neither convened nor participated in any meetings linked to discussions about impeachment or the destabilisation of the Oyo State government. She warned that the continued spread of such allegations could have legal consequences if not retracted.

Multiple members of the Oyo State House of Assembly rallied behind the governor, with the Chief Whip, Hon. Gbenga Oyekola, among the most vocal. Oyekola alleged that following a critical meeting, it was discovered that some individuals were working to push the assembly against the governor. He alleged that the Olubadan had advised the Speaker during a meeting and offered to facilitate a House of Representatives ticket for him under the APC, along with financial backing.
The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Abiodun Mohammed Fadeyi, and other prominent lawmakers also denied any role in the alleged impeachment plot or receipt of inducements from political actors.

In a dramatic twist, the political backlash appears to have turned against the Speaker himself. Sources within the governor’s office and the Speaker’s circle indicate that plans to remove Ogundoyin and replace him with his deputy, Fadeyi Mohammed, have been perfected, with Gbenga Oyekola set to step in as deputy speaker.
Separately, former Speaker Adeolu Adeleke — who led the House during the Fifth Assembly between 2003 and 2007 and played a key role in the aftermath of the 2005 impeachment of former Governor Rashidi Ladoja — called on the current Speaker to name those who offered him bribes and to clarify the discrepancies between what he reportedly said at a stakeholders’ meeting and what he later said in a press release. Adeleke warned that failure to provide clarity could damage public trust in the legislature.

Political analysts believe the emergence of impeachment rumours signals growing political maneuvering ahead of future elections rather than an actual legislative attempt to remove the governor. Observers note that impeachment in Nigeria requires constitutional procedures, including a significant majority in the legislature — conditions that currently appear unlikely given the unified stance of lawmakers.
Governor Makinde, a two-term PDP governor who has built a reputation as one of Nigeria’s stronger-performing state executives, continues to command firm legislative loyalty. The crisis, however, has laid bare the vulnerability of even popular governors to orchestrated political destabilisation — and has placed Oyo State politics firmly under the national spotlight as the 2027 election cycle draws closer.