2014, Governor Ayodele Peter Fayose and
the lawmakers elected on the platform of the
All Progressives Congress, APC, have been
locked in a battle of wits.
Mr Fayose’s entrance for the governorship
primary of the Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP, last year proved that he was bound to
encounter many battles.
Though he was favoured by the presidency at
the end of the PDP exercise, that did not
deter the many hurdles that lay ahead of him.
However, analysts argue that Fayose’s
emergence as the governor has left the state
in shambles owing to the perceived negative
image portrayed by the governor.
The latest impeachment move by the Ekiti
State House of Assembly led by the Speaker,
Dr Adewale Omirin has led to the opening of
many cans of worms.
But the governor is unrelenting to prevent a
repeat of the 2006 episode when he was
ousted by a PDP-led majority in the
assembly.
The governor also boasted that those
attempting to remove him will first of all have
to “impeach God”.
The 19 APC lawmakers had a fortnight ago
served a notice of impeachment on Mr.
Fayose, who was sworn into office last
October.
The lawmakers have been away from the
state until recently, following the victory of
the APC in the presidential election. In their
absence, seven PDP legislators have been
performing legislative duties which legal
luminaries considered illegal.
Here is chronicle of happenings in the state
lately threatening the peace of the state.
Beating the judge
Soon after the June 21, 2014 governorship
elections, the Ekiti state chapter of the APC
cried foul and sought legal redress.
It was during one of the court proceedings
that pandemonium broke out in the Ekiti
State High Court premises.
The sanctity of the judicial arm of
government was violated as political thugs
invaded the court premises, beating up a
high court judge and tearing his suit.
This prompted the Chief Judge, Justice A.S.
Daramola to order immediate closure of all
courts in Ekiti State until adequate security
has been put in place.
But in his reaction to the fracas, the governor
said he was in the court premises as a
respondent in a petition filed before the
election petition tribunal that commenced.
Impeaching Speaker Omirin
Perhaps not comfortable with an APC
dominated assembly, Mr Fayose made
spirited efforts to install lawmakers loyal to
his course.
A group of pro-Fayose lawmakers in the
state House of Assembly purportedly
removed Mr. Omirin as the Speaker of the
House and elevated the Speaker pro tempore,
Dele Olugbemi, to occupy the seat.
The Deputy Speaker, Mr. Tunji Orisalade
suffered a similar fate, as he was booted out
and replaced with a female lawmaker, Abeni
Olayinka, representing Ado Constituency 2.
Outrage greeted the move by pro-Fayose
lawmakers.
Omirin, who insisted that he remained the
speaker of the Assembly, argued that it was
only a 2/3 majority of the House that could
unseat him as stipulated by the 1999
Constitution.
Maximum ruler
Insisting that only seven PDP lawmakers
presided over the impeachment, Omirin said:
“the 19 APC members are intact and we are
outside the state because the place is not
safe for us. Fayose is fast becoming a
maximum ruler and this cannot stand.”
Mobilising okada riders
Sensing a repeat of his removal from office in
2006, Fayose asked the people to defend the
mandate given to him following the
impeachment process initiated by the APC
lawmakers.
Already three groups, the Okada Riders
Association, Road Transport Workers
Association of Nigeria and National Union of
Road Transport Workers have put their
members on notice to look out for the APC
lawmakers apparently to forestall their
impeachment.
Mr. Fayose, who sounded conciliatory after
the Supreme Court affirmed his election,
made a live television broadcast asking Ekiti
people to defend their mandate from the APC
lawmakers, who he claimed were invading
the state to impeach him.
Drivers and
okada riders
He urged drivers and okada riders in
particular to move out en masse to defend
his mandate, saying: “My mandate is your
mandate and you must defend it.”
A public announcement by the Chairman of
the Okada Riders Association, Niyi Dahunsi
“All Okada riders in Ekiti State are enjoined
to be on the look-out for strange faces in the
state from tomorrow. This is because it has
been gathered that APC lawmakers working
with Dr Adewale Omirin are planning to
truncate the peace of the state by planning to
invade the state with armed thugs.”
The threat issued by the motorcyclists and
NURTW has raised concern over the
antecedents of the governor.
Pundits wondered why Fayose is asking
common citizens to defend his position and
maintain that this development might have
adverse effect on the state which is
considered one of the most educated in the
country.
The APC legislators seemed unperturbed with
the governor’s olive branch extended to
them.
The lawmakers have stuck to their guns to
impeach the governor over allegations
bordering on impunity and breach of the
constitution.
Impunity, rascality worrisome—Ojudu
For Senator Babafemi Ojudu, who represents
Ekiti Central Senatorial District in the Senate,
the recent developments of impunity and
rascality in the state, remains worrisome.
Ojudu, in a recent interview, described the
developments as “very embarrassing,
frustrating and demeaning when all these
kind of things happen here. It is here judges
are being beaten, it is here seven law
makers are making laws in an Assembly of
26 people.”
The lawmaker posits that the development
might not be unconnected with “illegality and
abuse of the constitution”, displayed by the
governor.
The lawmakers have directed the Chief Judge
to commence the process of probing
allegations of gross misconduct against the
governor and his deputy governor, Ojo Eleka.
If Mr. Fayose is eventually sacked, it will be
the second time he is removed from office
having been impeached in 2006.
With the impeachment threat still hovering
around Fayose, pundits are concerned over
the ever growing nature of the impasse.
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