Ekiti monarchs, APC disagree over move to impeach Fayose

T

Governor of Ekiti state, Ayo Fayose

he Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers and the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday disagreed over the move to impeach Governor Ayodele Fayose, with the monarchs cautioning against truncating the wish of the people.

But the APC accused the rulers of bias in their intervention in the crisis, insisting that the governor has committed impeachable offences and must punished.

The traditional leaders commended the Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, for “not yielding to pressure from the 19 APC lawmakers to constitute a probe panel to investigate alleged impeachable offences committed by Fayose.” They vowed to resist what they described as attempt being made by the Adewale Omirin-led APC lawmakers, whose tenure is about to expire, to impeach Fayose, whom they said was popularly elected by the people of the state.

Omirin was said to have claimed that he had directed the chief judge to constitute the panel within seven days, but no action was taken by Justice Daramola since about 19 days ago. He was said to have repeated his claim last Thursday, in a statement, that he had again directed the CJ to raise the panel within another seven days, which lapsed Wednesday April 22, 2015.

Despite being opposed to impeachment of Fayose by the outgoing lawmakers, the monarchs advised the governor to alleviate the sufferings of the legislators, whose salaries and allowances, it was claimed, have not been paid since last year December, as part of the efforts to reconcile with them.

A statement by its Chairman and the Onitaji of Itaji, Oba Adamo Babalola, in Ado Ekiti yesterday said the traditional rulers council appreciated Justice Daramola for holding tenaciously to the tenets of his office, in spite of the obvious and immense pressure from interested parties.

The monarchs said: “Council implored Justice Daramola to continue in the same spirit, so as to ensure that the popular wish of the generality of the people is not subverted.

“Council also acknowledged and appreciated the efforts of the law enforcement agents in maintaining law and order in the state and for ensuring that the wish of the people is not truncated. We appreciate the good people of the state who have continued to maintain the peace even in the face of obvious provocations, and appeal that they should continue in the same vein.

“On our part, as traditional rulers, council has called on Obas in the communities of members of the agitating legislators in their different domains to put an end to this impeachment saga and tread the path of peace.”

The monarchs said the most worrisome thing about the crisis has been that the lawmakers had abandoned the state for months, only to resurface shortly after Muhammadu Buhari was declared the President-elect, describing the action as unpatriotic. They stated that the landslide victories Fayose had recorded in various elections conducted before and after he assumed office vividly amplified the people’s preference for his leadership and that this cannot be truncated through any foul means.

“The people’s position was further reinforced by the Supreme Court judgement of April 14, 2015, where, in a unanimous decision, Fayose was confirmed the winner of the governorship election. Council, therefore, wonders why, after this declaration by the highest court in the country, a group of legislators whose term is about to expire and have been voted out of office, should insist on impeaching a legitimate governor.

“Having painstakingly looked at the issues stated above, council rejected in unequivocal terms, any or all moves by the outgoing legislators and their sponsors to impeach the governor. And any move in this direction must stop forthwith. It is our resolve that the people of Ekiti State should be allowed to enjoy the mandate they freely gave to Fayose at the 2014 governorship election,” the rulers maintained.

The Ekiti APC, while reacting to what it called the partisan intervention by the traditional rulers in the crisis, said it was not surprised by the role of the monarchs against the backdrop of their alleged complicity in the festering of the crisis.

Ekiti APC Chairman, Jide Awe, in a statement expressed “regret that the traditional leaders, by their behaviour, have confirmed the allegations raised against them in the media by a group of concerned Ekiti youths that the obas agreed to support Fayose when he sought their cooperation while unleashing mayhem on the opposition.

“When we read in the media that the obas agreed to keep quiet when Fayose unleashes violence on the opposition, we did not believe until events began to unfold. To respond to this clearly unfortunate partisan position by the obas, we will like to ask the same questions that one Ekiti youth group, Ekiti Youth Vanguard, posed to one of the eminent leaders in Ekiti who refused to talk while Fayose was abusing the constitution and attacking his opponents but now came to his aid when the governor was about paying for his impunity and constitutional breaches.

“We ask: Where were the obas when Fayose stormed the court to desecrate the temple of justice? They kept quiet. Where were they when the 19 lawmakers were being hunted in their homes? What did they say or do when seven members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held illegal sitting to purportedly impeach Omirin? The seven PDP lawmakers sat to approve the budget, Fayose’s cabinet nominees and passed certain laws that required public hearings but they refused to hold public hearings on these laws. What did the obas say about these illegal acts and what did they say or do as the fathers of all to correct the anomalies?

“What did they say when Fayose withdrew Omirin’s security aides, seized his official car, locked up his office, cut electricity supply to his house, forced him out of his official quarters and illegally sacked his‎ aides? What did our obas say when Fayose seized the salaries and allowances of the lawmakers and their campaign posters and billboards destroyed by Fayose’s thugs? The monarchs were alive when the lawmakers were not allowed into Ekiti State to attend their campaign rallies, what did they do?.”
The party also said it was shocked that within a short period, the traditional rulers forgot the respect accorded them by the APC-led government and now prefer a man who held them in contempt by clearly showing partisanship in support of Fayose.

“Why praising the chief judge for not setting up the panel to investigate Fayose over his illegal acts? This is a clear support for brigandage and lawlessness and it is unfortunate that the crisis is being turned into a profiteering escapade in the face of ridicule and lawlessness in our state by the governor that has put Ekiti people in shame across the globe,” the statement added.