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Impeachment threats against Governor Ayodele Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party form the majority All Progressives Congress is causing serious security concerns in Ado-Ekiti, state capital, as supporters of the governor throng the streets in protest
| By Anayo Ezugwu | Apr. 6, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT |
THE threat of impeachment Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State is causing unrest in Ado-Ekiti, capital of Ekiti State. Thousands of supporters of Fayose, on Tuesday, April 7, took to the streets of Ado Ekiti in protest, blocking all the major roads leading to the State House of Assembly complex to prevent the impeachment. The 19 members of the House under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, have threatened to impeach the governor and wanted to seat to carry out their plans.
The protesters defied the heavy presence of heavy security agencies preventing entry routes into the state capital. Nevertheless, security operatives were also seen in several strategic places to prevent outbreak of violence.
Sign of trouble became surfaced on Monday, April 6, when some members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state, barricaded the two major roads leading to the House of Assembly following rumours that the APC lawmakers were planning to hold a sitting to impeach the governor over alleged constitutional breaches. The party loyalists were led by Kolapo Olusola, deputy governor, Tunji Odeyemi, a former speaker, Lanre Ogunsuyi, special assistant to the governor on information and Lere Olayinka, public communications and new media aide to the governor.
The APC lawmakers, who had served impeachment notice to Governor Fayose cited impunity, brigandage, stalking and other constitutional breaches by the governor as reasons for the impeachment notice. The lawmakers, in a statement alleged that 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 Adewale Omirin, speaker of the House of Assembly, 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.”
But Ogunsuyi said the APC lawmakers led by Omirin erred in law by sending a notice of impeachment to Fayose. He said Omirin could not claim to be the speaker while still challenging his own impeachment in the court. “The new Nigeria which President Goodluck Jonathan and Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) 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,” he said.
However, Fayose claimed that he was yet to get the impeachment notice.
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