N300bn Loan: Oyo Assembly Labels APC’s Shittu ‘Absentee Lawmaker’

The Oyo State House of Assembly has taken a swipe at Ibraheem Shittu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker representing Saki West Constituency, branding him an “absentee legislator” whose presence and contributions in the chamber have been negligible.

The rebuke followed Shittu’s claim on Wednesday that the Assembly secretly approved a ₦300 billion loan request for Governor Seyi Makinde while members were on recess. He alleged that he was neither informed nor carried along in the deliberations.

In a swift response, the Assembly leadership dismissed his allegations as misleading and baseless. In a statement jointly signed by the Majority Leader, Hon. Sanjo Adedoyin, and the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Media, Public Affairs and ICT, Hon. Waheed Akintayo, the lawmakers accused Shittu of being disconnected from legislative work.

They maintained that Shittu’s poor attendance at plenary sessions, his absence from oversight duties, and his lack of meaningful contributions in committee work made him the least active member of the 10th Assembly.

“His absence extended to all previous oversight duties and committee assignments, where his contributions are either non-existent or irrelevant,” the statement read.

The lawmakers argued that Shittu had failed his constituents by neglecting the mandate entrusted to him, stressing that his latest claims were a mere attempt to cover up his dereliction of duty.

They further advised him to redirect his energy towards becoming “a functional legislator” rather than engaging in what they described as cheap blackmail.

The row has heightened political tension in Ibadan, with analysts noting that the loan debate is fast becoming another fault line between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition APC in the state.