Posted by Adesina Wahab and Tony Amokeodo on
The Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, on Monday asked Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) and Mr. Femi Falana to forgive him if he had offended them in any way.
Forgive me, Fayose begs Babalola, Falana
The Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, on Monday asked Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) and Mr. Femi Falana to forgive him if he had offended them in any way.
He pleaded that the interest of the state should be placed above personal interest.
But Falana on Monday said what the Ekiti people wanted was justice, not apology.
Addressing senior civil servants at the Governor's Office in Ado-Ekiti, Fayose called on those in opposition to eschew bitterness and give peace a chance.
The lawyers had accused him of being after their lives.
Babalola was the first to raise an alarm two weeks ago, while Falana on Sunday in Lagos, showed newsmen a video clip of where the governor allegedly threatened his life.
The governor said, 'I am not desperate to be governor for another term; if I have spent four years with good achievements to show for it, I am okay and will give glory to God.
'My immediate concern is the upliftment of Ekiti State. Let the opposition shed the toga of unbridled opposition in the interest of the state," he said.
He reiterated that he had no plans to eliminate the lawyers or any other person in the state.
'I want to use this opportunity to beg people like Chief Afe Babalola and Mr. Femi Falana to please forgive me if I have offended them in any way," he added.
Fayose stated that he would gain nothing if such notable people were killed.
He recalled that out of the respect he had for Babalola, he directed that the design of the ongoing dualisation of Ado-Ekiti road be modified along the Ado-Ekiti-Akure road, so as not to affect Babalola's house situated there.
The governor added that the state government was planning to construct a road with asphalt overlay in Ilawe-Ekiti, Falana's hometown.
He blamed some politicians, whom he said were already jittery over 2007 elections, for the tension in the state.
He said he would use his performance in office to drive away his opponents rather than plan to kill anybody.
The governor warned civil servants in the state against divulging official secrets.
He added that permanent secretaries would henceforth be held responsible for any lapses.
Reacting to Fayose's apology, Falana, who is the President, West African Bar Association, said, 'The matter has gone beyond my person.
'We are talking of threat to lives of some citizens in Ekiti State as well as the memories of those had been sent to their untimely death.
'The apology is meant for the living. What happens to the dead who are crying for justice in their graves? In the interest of justice and fair play, and to clear the name of His Excellency, Mr. Ayo Fayose, there he has to be an urgent and comprehensive investigation of the gruesome circumstances under which Mr. Tunde Omojola (at Ifaki Ekiti), Femi Abire (at Ado Ekiti), and four students of College of Education were mowed down by hit squads in Ekiti.
'Finally, there has to be a guarantee on the part of the government of the safety of lives and property of the citizens of Ekiti."
Meanwhile, a delegation of deputy governors from the Peoples Democratic Party-controlled states of Osun, Kwara and Ondo visited Ekiti on Monday in an effort to amicably resolve the dispute between Fayose and his deputy, Mr. Abiodun Aluko.
Though state officials, including the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, kept sealed lips on what brought them to the state, it was learnt that they came to plead for their colleague.
The delegation comprised Erelu Sola Obada (Osun), Mr. Joel Ogundeji (Kwara), and Mr. Omolade Oluwateru (Ondo).
Attempts by reporters to speak with them at the Governor's Office, before they went to the Government House and after their meeting with Fayose, proved futile.
They refused to disclose what brought them to the state.
There has been no love lost between Fayose and Aluko in the last few months.
Fayose has consistently said his deputy only needed to reconcile with some people from his hometown, Ikere-Ekiti.
Aluko on the other hand said he enjoyed working with Fayose, and blamed some people for fanning the embers of disunity between them.
He mentioned a Peoples Democratic Party leader from his community (name withheld), as the brain behind the whole episode.
The matter was taken to President Olusegun Obasanjo last month at a meeting in Ota, Ogun State.
The Punch, Tuesday, June 21, 2005