Posted by By ABDULFATAH OLADEINDE on
Embattled Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose may resign from office this week to escape impeachment.
Embattled Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose may resign from office this week to escape impeachment.
This development followed mounting pressures from governors and bigwigs of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Twenty four members of the state House of Assembly led by the speaker, Friday Aderemi had last Friday jointly served notices of impeachment on Fayose and his deputy, Mrs Biodun Olujimi for alleged involvement in gross misconduct and abuse of office.
But Governor Fayose accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of coercing the lawmakers into initiating the impeachment process.
Concerned governors from the South West and PDP chieftains immediately waded into the matter, which, they believed, if not carefully handled, could rub off negatively on the party with the next general elections just a few months away.
Daily Sun gathered last night that Governor Fayose may have succumbed to pressures on him to resign as part of negotiations for a soft-landing.
The presidency, it was further gathered, believed that impeaching Fayose and his deputy could become a reference in the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) probe going on in the National Assembly, involving President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
A strategy was therefore said to have been hatched to sacrifice Fayose and possibly make Olujimi governor.
A source close to the deputy, however, told Daily Sun that he was unaware that Mrs Olujimi was being prepared for any soft landing, restating that she had always insisted to stand by Governor Fayose.
Fayose's impeachment or resignation, may rob the PDP of victory in the next governorship polls, hence the consideration of Olujimi for replacement.
However, she would only be allowed to complete Fayose's tenure and not run in 2007.
Another issue being considered, Daily Sun learnt was who would become Olujimi's deputy in the event of her being made governor. According to sources, Akin Olayisade (Ido Osi) and another PDP chieftain from the northern senatorial district are top on the list of personalities she could choose from.
However, Olayisade is reportedly more favoured to ensure balance and acceptability to the Ekiti public.
Before the decision to persuade Fayose to quit, the arrangement had been that in the event of his impeachment, the speaker, Mr Aderemi would take over as governor, while the majority leader of the Assembly, Babade Kayode would be deputy governor.
The speaker was sighted at the Aso Rock Villa on Sunday. His visit to the seat of power is believed not to be unconnected with the impeachment.
Going by the Constitution, the speaker of a state assembly can occupy the office of governor for only three months without a deputy.
Should Fayose be impeached, therefore, Aderemi would be only be in power until January 2007, when a bye-election would conducted.
Sources said that the PDP would try to avoid a bye-election before general elections slated for next March.
Meanwhile, the hope of leadership of the state assembly to take over from Fayose, appears to have been dashed.
Presidency sources said they were advised to return to Ado-Ekiti and work with the new arrangement in the overall interest of the party.
It was not immediately clear how the lawmakers would react with many of them having lost credibility in their various constituencies as they were being portrayed as traitors at home.
At their hideout in Lagos, the Ekiti lawmakers were alleged to have been made comfortable to sustain them for the now possibly aborted impeachment process.
The fallout of this development may be their arraignment in the law court in future if they attempt to express their displeasure since they could not get what they had bargained for.