At least one person has been
reportedly killed in Efon Alaaye, Ekiti State, as the move to impeach
the State Governor, Ayo Fayose, by the state House of Assembly gathers
momentum on Tuesday.
The victim of the protest to stop the
lawmakers from sitting to continue with the impeachment move, Modupe
Olaiya, was have to have been killed in a yet-to-be-ascertained
circumstances while the 19 All Progressives Congress members of the
House attempted to enter the state capital, Ado Ekiti, through the Efon
Alaaye area.
A huge protest is currently ongoing in Ado Ekiti, capital of Ekiti
State, against the move of Ekiti State House of Assembly to impeach the
state Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, over alleged constitutional
breaches.
Heavy
security has been put in place in strategic locations in Ado Ekiti,
while entry routes have been blocked and taken over by security
operatives.
Details later. . .
——————————————————————————–
Members of the Peoples Democratic Party
in Ekiti State on Monday blocked the two major roads leading to the
state House of Assembly following rumours that 19 All Progressives
Congress lawmakers were planning to hold a sitting to impeach Governor
Ayodele Fayose.
The party loyalists were led by the
Deputy Governor, Kolapo Olusola; a former Speaker, Tunji Odeyemi;
the Special Assistant to the governor on Information, Lanre Ogunsuyi,
and Fayose’s Public Communications and New Media aide, Lere Olayinka.
Although nine Toyota Hilux vans
carrying men and officers of the Police and the Department of State
Services manned the main entrances to the Assembly, the PDP members
erected canopies about 200 metres away from the Assemby’s premises.
Some of them sat quietly under the
canopies erected by the Secretariat Road while others danced to music
supplied in front of the old complex.
A bus was used by the PDP members to prevent movement into the Assembly premises from the same road.
On Iyin Road, many of the party supporters also ensured that no one was allowed into the complex.
The APC lawmakers, who had since
November 17 stayed away from the House proceedings, had served Fayose
with an impeachment notice. They cited impunity, brigandage, stalking
and other constitutional breaches by Fayose as reasons for the
impeachment notice.
But Ogunsuyi told journalists on Monday
that the APC lawmakers led by the Speaker, . Adewale Omirin, erred
in law by sending a notice of impeachment to Fayose.
He added that Omirin could not claim to be the Speaker while still challenging his own impeachment in the court.
The governor’s information aide said,
“The new Nigeria which President Goodluck Jonathan and Maj. Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) all campaigned for is the one that would
respect the rule of law. With this convergence, you can see that the
people are standing by their governor. They are ready to defend their
mandate.
“Nobody asked Omirin and other APC
lawmakers not to come to the Assembly; they only decided to abdicate
their duties since November 17, 2014. Impeachment procedure does not
start and end with the Assembly alone. The Judiciary is involved; so
their action or plan is highly condemnable.
“We want to emphasise that they are
welcome as long as they are concerned about making laws for the progress
of the state; but if it is meant to come and impeach Governor Fayose,
we won’t allow that.”
Ogunsuyi, however said the governor, as the leader of the state, would continue to extend the olive branch to the lawmakers.
He said, “We don’t want any unwholesome
issue because the task of developing Ekiti is an onerous task that needs
to be pursued with vigour. The governor doesn’t want any distraction
and that is why he has been pursuing peace at all times.
“We want some measure of decorum in
Ekiti. We are not proud of the era whereby we had three governors within
a week. We want a stable government and that we will continue to pursue
for Ekiti to be at peace.”
Odeyemi advised the APC lawmakers to
sheathe their swords and allow peace to reign by putting the interest of
the state above theirs.
He said,”The entire issue calls for
concerns. As a former legislator, I am quite aware of the rudiment of
impeachment process, but far from this, the issue of the news any
impeachment will bring to Ekiti’s credibility is uppermost in my mind.
“How would they perceive Ekiti as a
people nationwide? So, I am calling on my colleagues to have a rethink
because we are duty bound to contribute to the development of this
state. I plead with them to embrace reconciliation and forget about
heating up the polity unnecessarily.”
Olayinka said he received a call from an unknown person on Monday who claimed to be an official of the DSS .
Olayinka added that the caller whom he
described as an impersonator, said his office received a report that he
was inciting people of the state to violence with the state-owned radio.
He said, “I received a call today
(Monday) from a number, 08141602777, claiming that it was from the DSS
headquarters in Abuja. I was told that a report was made in the DSS
office that I was inciting Ekiti people to violence with the Ekiti Radio.”
According to him, the general manager of the Progress FM, Ado Ekiti, also received a similar message from same number.
The aide stated that he later contacted
the DSS office in Ado Ekiti to verify the claim and identify the caller
but was told to disregard the call.
However, the APC lawmakers, in a
statement said Fayose was compounding his problems by inciting
people,who they called thugs, against the Assembly.
They advised him to note that violence would not solve the burden of constitutional breaches that he had placed on himself.
The lawmakers, in the statement by
Omirin’s Special Adviser on Media, Wole Olujobi, wondered why a
governor that had questions to answer would get involved in other
unlawful conduct such as the invasion of the Assembly by thugs.
The statement read in part, “It is
shocking that the governor would start any act of illegality bordering
on public disorder when he is having a load of illegal acts on his head
upon which he is facing removal from office.
“Ekiti people were shocked when news
spread that the governor had asked his thugs to invade the Assembly and
occupy the place to prevent the lawmakers from performing their legal
duties.
“These PDP members were holding their
meeting in their secretariat when instruction reached them that they
must relocate to the Assembly premises where thugs were beating
passersby and molesting motorists and residents. All these illegal acts
cannot save the governor.
“This is the way a court in the state
was invaded by thugs who beat up the judges. They tore court records
in the Chief Judge’s office and beat up his secretary.
“Now is the turn of the House of
Assembly. What the governor is doing is a confirmation that he does not
believe and cannot tolerate democratic practice. But democracy is what
Ekiti people want and so we expect people of conscience and good will to
support the efforts to allow Ekiti people enjoy democratic governance.”
The lawmakers advised the governor to
defend the allegations against him in the impeachment notice instead of
resorting to self-help that offered nothing but unnecessary venting of
anger on the peaceful people of Ekiti State.
They also confirmed in the statement that the security details of the Speaker had been restored by the Police and the DSS.
Jonathan didn’t ask me to resign
–Fayose
Meanwhile, Fayose has debunked a rumour that he had been advised by President Goodluck Jonathan to resign.
He also denied receiving impeachment notice from the 19 APC lawmakers who accused him of committing eight impeachable offences.
Fayose stated these on Monday during a media chat, Meet Your Governor, monitored in Ado Ekiti.
He boasted that nobody could remove him
from office because he was holding a mandate given to him by the people
of the state. He added that before anybody could remove him, such
individual would have to remove God first and the people of Ekiti State.
Responding to questions from viewers on
the blockage of roads leading to the Assembly complex , the governor
said all the attacks on him were because of his support for President
Goodluck Jonathan .
He said, “I don’t know of any invasion; I
don’t know of any threat to the House of Assembly and I am not aware of
any impeachment process. I am aware the House is on recess and Omirin
is in court challenging his impeachment in Lagos and Abuja.”
“They claimed to have served me on
Easter Day, can you imagine that? Who did they serve and who received it
(the impeachment notice)?
“The enemies of Ekiti people are at work
again. I left in 2006, eight years ago and God in his infinite mercy
brought me back the same day and the same month that I was removed.
“They are waging war against my people,
those who voted me in; nobody has served (impeachment notice). I read it
on the Internet the same way you read it on the Internet.”
Fayose said he had no regret supporting and campaigning for Jonathan.
“Because Buhari won an election, they
are waging war against me. When I won election, that was the same thing
they did. They are not doing it for the love of Ekiti people but for
their personal interest.
“Omirin wanted to become Acting Governor
but the Bible says who art thou oh mountain before Zerubbabel, thou
shall be removed. They employed every trick to frustrate my inauguration
but they failed. I know hey will fail again.
“If you will remove me, you will have to
remove God first who put me there. You can’t unseat God; nobody can
unseat me. No matter their number, they can’t remove me.’’
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