Posted by By BANJI AYOOLA and TUNDE RAHEEM, Ado-Ekiti, RAZAQ BAMIDELE, on
Embattled Ekiti State governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, seems to be sinking deeper into despair as three of his aides were on Wednesday arrested by the police over killings in the state.
Embattled Ekiti State governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, seems to be sinking deeper into despair as three of his aides were on Wednesday arrested by the police over killings in the state.
Also, Speaker of the state's House of Assembly, Chief Friday Aderemi, says that nothing would stop the removal of the governor from office.
This is coming at a time the national headquarters of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) has scheduled a meeting on Thursday to determine the fate of Fayose, who headed for the court to stop his impeachment.
Daily Sun gathered that Tope Aluko, Omolafe Aderiye and Goke Olatunji, who is standing trial for alleged diversion of state funds in the moribund and controversial state poultry project, were picked up by detectives. They were immediately moved to Abuja where the governor's Principal Staff Officer (PSO) was already being detained.
It was gathered that their arrest was a fall-out of the special report of the State Security Service (SSS) on assassination of innocent citizens of the state between 2003 and now.
In its report, the SSS had implicated certain individuals in connection with the violence and attendant loss of lives. Of note was the case of one Tunde Omojola, who was allegedly strangled to death during a by-election to fill a vacant councillorship seat in Ido-Osi Local Government in May last year.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly says that there is no going back on the impeachment of Fayose. According to him, "the governors' forum's intervention is a show of solidarity with their drowning colleagues," adding: "Ekiti State is a political entity whose destiny lies with its people through its representatives who had been empowered by their common will and constitution.
Continuing, the speaker said: "No interference from any quarters can impede the rule of law and constitutional process being adhered to. Let them stay out of this matter and allow the rule of law to have its way"
The speaker maintained that no court could stop the impeachment process. Referring to Section 188 of the 1999 constitution, Aderemi warned: "Any judge that attempts to stop the process would be jeopardizing his future," adding: "The Nigeria Bar Association, (NBA) and the National Judicial Council (NJC) are listening and watching."
He said the House was being too magnanimous with Fayose by waiting for the 14 days ultimatum to expire. "What the constitution says is that we can take action within 14 days and not after 14 days. That means we can act on the third, fourth, seventh or ninth days after the notice of impeachment has been served," he declared, adding: "We are patient because we are not out to witch hunt the governor. Remember, he is our boss and one have been cooperating with him for the past three years… The allegations against him were not cooked up by the House of Assembly."
Aderemi also said that the House has not pronounced the governor guilty, saying: "We are patiently waiting for the governor to defend himself first as required by the law before we call on the third party to investigate the claim of the governor. If the verdict is guilty, we know what to do and if, on the other hand, the verdict is not guilty we also know what to do. It is simple," the speaker said, while describing the noise about the development as "making a mountain out of a mole hill."
In a related development, the PDP has summoned its National Working Committee (NWC) to a meeting on Thursday to discuss the Fayose issue and proffer possible ways out of the political logjam.
Daily Sun gathered that the meeting became necessary following suggestions by prominent party members that the national organ of the party could save the situation by intervening decisively and timely too.
Tips on the agenda of the meeting indicate that the CWC members would receive briefings from the party's Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode George, who had been mandated to give details of the rumblings in Ekiti.
As PDP is trying to find solution to the matter, a gale of legal actions is sweeping through Ekiti. On Wednesday, Gov Fayose filed an action in Ado-Ekiti High Court, seeking to obtain an ex-parte motion to stop the impeachment proceedings instituted against him by 23 of the 26-member state legislature.
In response to that the state's lawmakers immediately countered the move by mobilising a legal team led by an Ibadan-based Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, to frustrate the action. Fagbemi's brief was to challenge the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter.
Although the lawyer was at the State High Court at about 10.00a.m. ostensibly to obtain court processes, he was subjected to a hide-and-seek game by officials of the court, who refused to give him the necessary papers. By 7.00p.m., when he spoke with Daily Sun, Fagbemi said he was yet to be served with the papers.
Joining in the legal action, Ekiti Network Alliance has dragged the national chairman of the PDP, Col Amadu Ali, Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade and Chief Olayinka Omilani, PDP national vice chairman, South West, for alleged interference in the Ekiti crisis. The group wants the court to stop the defendants to leave the state's House of Assembly perform its role.