Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko has described the removal of the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Jumoke Akindele as unconstitutional.

Mimiko said this while speaking with State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said the law requires two-third of members of the house to remove a Speaker but only 13 out of 26 members did.

Mimiko said the Speaker has disclosed that she is ready to resign.

The governor said, “The sitting Speaker now has made it abundantly clear that she is ready to step aside, she is ready to resign her position.

“But the group that purportedly impeached her, not even a simple majority can impeach the Speaker, it has to be two thirds.

“That is to tell you about the fact that 13 out of 26 members of the House do not have constitutional or legal empowerment to impeach the Speaker.

“But as I speak with you now, she is ready to step down any time once the House is properly constituted.”

The governor said he is not convinced that the crisis was related to his planned submission of the state’s 2017 Appropriation Bill to the House.

He said, “I don’t think it’s directly related. There is nothing sacrosanct about the method of presenting budget if you know what am talking about.

“I think it is just about changing leadership structure in the House and all of that.

“The governor now is from the Northern Central District and the deputy governor is from the Southern Central district and then, the Speaker is from the South.

“There are those who feel that she (the Speaker) should step aside so that they can get someone from the Central Senatorial District. I think that has been sorted out.

“I believe that the Speaker should come from the Central Senatorial District but the issue is the method.”

Mimiko said his mission to Osinbajo was to brief him about his (the governor’s) exit plan.