The seven-man Committee set up by the Osun House of Assembly to probe the petition by Justice Folahanmi Oloyede seeking impeachment of Gov. Rauf Aregbesola, began sitting in Osogbo on Tuesday.

Oloyede, in the petition, accused the governor of financial recklessness. He was represented by a lawyer, Mr Lanre Ogunlusi (SAN).

The committee had invited Oloyede to appear before it to substantiate her petition against the governor.

The Speaker of the House, Mr Najeem Salaam, said the legislature had received the governor’s response to the petition.

The committee was set up on July 16, and given two weeks to submit its report.

Journalists were not allowed to cover the sitting of the committee on Tuesday.

Ogunlusi, however, told journalists that Oloyede mandated him to demand for the response of the governor to the petition.

“My client is yet to be furnished with the governor’s response to the petition.

“We believe that for the committee to do a thorough job, they need to forward the governor’s response to us.

“Although the committee said they are a fact-finding committee, but they still need to accord my client with the governor’s response.

“Once the governor’s response is made available to us, then my client will know what to do’’, he said.

Chairman of the committee, Mr Akintunde Adegboye, told journalists that the committee has no power to give the governor’s response to the petitioner.

Adegboye, who is also the Deputy Speaker, said the committee is a fact-finding one which lacked power to furnish the petitioner with the governor’s response.

“The panel is a fact-finding committee, not a trial court. The physical appearance of the judge would further confirm her resolve to pursue her cause and assist the committee in its work’’, he said.

He said the petitioner broke the rule of the assembly by her failure to appear before the committee in person.