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.
UPDATED at 11am: 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.’’
Posted from 112world
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