Posted by By Usoro Usoro on
The Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, says despite the mounting threat of impeachment and pressure on him to resign his office, he was not rattled.
The Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, says despite the mounting threat of impeachment and pressure on him to resign his office, he was not rattled.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose told Saturday Sun that no amount of pressure would make him quit his office.
'Fayose would continue in office as the governor of Ekiti State, despite pressure from certain quarters", Adelusi said.
The governor has been in the eye of the storm since last week, when 23 of the 26 lawmakers in the State House of Assembly signed his impeachment notice. Although, when the notice was served on the governor has become a subject of debate, many political observers argued that nothing would save Fayose from impeachment.
His deputy, Mrs Biodun Olujimi was also served the notice, allegedly based on various acts of gross misconducts and abuse of office. The lawmakers signed the impeachment notice after they were invited by the EFCC; hence, Fayose accused the agency of using arm-twisting tactics. He said EFCC coerced the lawmakers into endorsing the impeachment notice.
However, the Speaker of the State Assembly, Friday Aderemi, denied the claim. He said they were doing their constitutional duties.
The impeachment notice, he said, was in line with Section 188, sub-section 2(a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution. He also claimed the governor was served the notice on Friday last week, Fayose said he only got it on Tuesday.
Business as usual
The CPS gave the impression that the situation in Ekiti Government House remained normal - despite reports of anti-Fayose protests in the state.
In fact, he said the governor had been going about his duties without any sing of concern for the impeachment threat.
'Yesterday, he went about his functions - commissioning projects and meeting with people", he said.
He spoke of mounting pressure on the governor to take certain hasty actions but that Fayose remained focus and was not ready to budge in the face of what he saw as misplaced threats.
Fayose himself has said that he would not be stampeded into taking any action, blaming his problems on the opposition.
No intention to resign
After intensive moves by the South-west governors failed to ensure a reprieve for Fayose, last weekend, there were reports that he may consider resignation. The reports followed information that he had been promised a soft-landing by the Federal authorities after the resignation.
The arrangement, it was learnt, was that he would not be prosecuted and his deputy, Olujimi would become the governor.
However, while admitting that there had been pressure on the governor to resign, Adelusi said Fayose had no intention to do so.
'The governor has not indicated his intention to resign. That is an arrangement from certain quarters. But he has not decided yet that he is going to resign. In fact, he is not going to resign because he has no reason for that", he said.
Asked pointedly if he was saying that Fayose would not resign, the CPS said: 'Yes, he is not going to resign. We are saying that we do not see any reason for that. It is as said in the Bible that a clean conscience fears nothing".
We'll stop them
Even as judges reportedly shunned the case, Adelusi told Saturday Sun that they were doing everything to stop the lawmakers from going ahead with the impeachment.
He expressed optimisim that Fayose would get a reprieve from the court. The governor, Adelusi said, went to court to obtain an injunction against the lawmakers and their planned action.
He reasoned that the idea was to restrain them until a Lagos court determines a case before it, saying that the issues were basically the same.
'The governor has not been given the opportunity to defend himself. He should be given a fair hearing and it is only in the law court that he can get it. That is why he went to court to restrain the lawmakers because the issues in the Lagos court are the same as the ones in the impeachment notice", he said.
He, however, described them as 'mere allegations", insisting that there is a position in law that every accused must be assumed innocent until proven guilty.
Reminded that the Speaker has argued that no court can stop them, as provided by the constitution, the CPS said, 'they are free to say whatever they like".
The allegations
Although Fayose has insisted that he has nothing to hide as he has never been involved in any unlawful dealings, the Ekiti lawmakers insist that he has some questions to answer.
He was, therefore, slammed with seven alleged offences as grounds for impeachment, while Olujimi was accused of only two impeachable offences.
The allegations against Fayose include: illegal operation of foreign accounts with the Bank of America and Barclays Bank Plc; illegal diversion of Local Government Funds o the tune of N11.7 billion; receipt of illegal gifts amounting to 37,000 pounds sterling from Biological Concepts Ltd.
Other alleged offences were that he received illegal house gifts valued at over N40 million allegedly built from the proceeds of the poultry project; illegal gifts including two properties at 23, Ring Road Street and another at Are Road, Afao-Ekiti, Ekiti State valued at about N25 million, both properties allegedly built from the proceeds of the contracts for Ekiti State Government's office and Fountain Hotel, awarded to Grid Associates headed by one Abiodun Fari-Arole, and another sum of N42 million from same Fari-Arole. He was also accused of illegal transfer of $100,000 to the United States of America on August 20, 2004, through Citi Bank account in New York, belonging to one Mr. Toney Orubuloye.
Olujimi's alleged offences include receipt of illegal gift of $50,000 from Biological Concepts Ltd; and failure to participate in the compulsory one year National Youth Service programme.
Next move
Expectedly, the CPS would not disclose their next line of action beyond saying, 'we are keeping our fingers crossed".
According to him, so far, everything happening is politics - including the said offer of resignation. In fact, he claimed to have read about the resignation option, like anyone else, in the newspapers. 'There is that arrangement; and as I told you, there pressure from various quarters. That's politics. I only read about the resignation in the papers, like you".
But asked if everything else failed, would Fayose accept to resign, he said: 'We've not gotten to that bridge. When we get to it we will cross it".