BREAKING NEWS, Politics
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MEMBERS of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, as well as other interest groups on Thursday staged a peaceful demonstration in Ado-Ekiti in support of the anti-graft campaign of President Muhammadu Buhari. The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the demonstration was the second in two weeks in support of the on-going war against corruption by the president.
The protesters also claimed to be demonstrating against alleged misplacement of the state’s funds by the Ayo Fayose administration. They described the recent freezing of the personal accounts of Gov. Fayose in Zenith Bank as proper. NAN reports that a large retinue of policemen and officers of the Department of State Security were deployed to provide cover for the crowd that took part in the street demonstration. The placard-carrying protesters comprised of party leaders, students, youth groups, artisans and other residents.
They marched from the popular Adekunle Fajuyi park through Okeyinmi and stopped at Ijigbo Round-About where they were addressed by leaders of each group. In her message, the state Acting Chairman of APC, Mrs Kemi Olaleye, passed a vote of confidence in President Buhari and his anti-corruption war. She challenged the EFCC to further dig deep into the finances of the state and prosecute whoever was indicted in the mismanagement of the state’s treasury.
Olaleye, however, expressed regrets over the immunity clause protecting governors from prosecution. “We are out on the streets because we are tired of immunity clause, immunity has become impunity in Ekiti, we condemn corrupt practices in whatever form. “Things must change, the EFCC must be allowed to do its job and ensure that looters of states are brought to justice,” she said.
Also speaking, CNPP State Chairman, Mr Tunji Ogunlola, asked Fayose to waive his immunity and face prosecution over alleged involvement in a N4.7 billion arms deal. “On the issue of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, we ask the 17 members alleged to have falsified their certificates to also submit themselves for prosecution. It is very unfortunate that their primary roles have been abandoned for Fayose’s defence.
“We also plead with the Federal Government not to release bailout fund for payment of salaries to Gov Fayose again. We advise that the Federal Ministry of Finance should rather pay directly into workers’ accounts. This is because we have lost confidence in the government; we want the previous N9.6billion bailout given the state to be probed.
“We want to commend the Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, and Director General of the DSS, Mr Lawal Daura, for probing alleged political thuggery levelled against the PDP government in Ekiti. We also want a special force to be deployed to Ekiti to maintain peace because our lives are no longer safe. We pass confidence vote in President Buhari for fighting corruption and for all his developmental programmes,” he said.
A students’ representative, Samuel Olaoluwa, commended the anti-graft agency for coming up with comprehensive data of how some influential persons allegedly looted their states.
— Jul 7, 2016 @ 17:50 GMT
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