Posted by By ISMAIL OMIPIDAN and JAMES OJO, Abuja on
Federal lawmakers, especially Senators were on Monday sharply divided over the purported impeachment of Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, with those against it describing it as 'null and void."
Federal lawmakers, especially Senators were on Monday sharply divided over the purported impeachment of Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, with those against it describing it as 'null and void."
Leading the pack of those opposed to the impeachment is Senator Farouk Bello Bumza (ANPP, Kebbi), who told Daily Sun in a telephone interview that inasmuch as he had no quarrel with the impeachment of either President Olusegun Obasanjo and his deputy, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, or even governors once they breach the constitution, he had difficulties coming to terms with the process that led to the impeachment of the Ekiti governor.
According to him, due process was not followed in Ekiti State, a situation, he argued, could endanger the country's democracy.
'The constitution empowers the State's Chief Judge (CJ) to constitute a panel of investigation upon request by the House. That was done. The panel sat and turned in its report. Now if the House feels unsatisfied with the outcome of the panel, all it ought to have done was to go back to the C J to ask him to either re-constitute the panel or review the report.
'The CJ can only be removed upon the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC). And in this circumstance, the chairman of the council, who is the CJN, has condemned the suspension of the CJ. To that extent, the impeachment is unconstitutional, null and void. The National Assembly should come out in strong terms and urge the Ekiti lawmakers to uphold the sanctity of the constitution.
'What is happening in Ekiti portends a great danger. It is a serious threat to the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria . You saw what happened in Jos, it's just an appetizer of the things that will come when brazen unconstitutional acts are perpetrated, especially by those in authority."
Speaking in the same vein, Senator Titus Olupitan (AD, Ondo) described the news as shocking, saying that procedurally the process was wrong, even as he chastised Fayose for fleeing the state in the heat of the crisis.
'If the CJN can pronounce the suspension of a Chief Justice as illegal and unconstitutional, I believe the House ought to have stopped at that stage. Their action is an invitation to chaos. We must learn to go by the rules.
'Having said that, I don't think the governor should have escaped because the constitution was on his side. If I were him, I will wait. Maybe he is afraid that he would be locked up. You know someone who has been used to leisure, will find it difficult being behind bars. Unfortunately too, Fayose has not done well in Ekiti State , otherwise the people would have revolted," the Ondo State lawmaker said.
However, the two senators from Ekiti State, James Kolawole and Bode Olowoporoku, who equally spoke to Daily Sun in separate telephone interviews, supported the impeachment of Fayose, saying that what matters most were the wishes of the people.
Kolawole (AD) argued that there was nothing unconstitutional about the impeachment, adding, 'what matters most are the wishes of the people. It is the wishes of the people that the man (governor) should go. That is what the people want and not the technicality you're talking about. I'm not a member of the PDP, Fayose is not my enemy and he is not my friend either, but if you go to Ekiti now, the people are happy over the development. And as a representative of the people, I will go with the people."
Olowoporoku, who incidentally was forced out of the PDP, following the protracted crisis between him and Fayose, described the governor's exit as a vindication of his avowed stance against him.
'Ekiti will now know peace. I've been telling Nigerians that Fayose is a tragedy of democracy. This is a governor who never obeyed a single court order throughout his reign. If somebody lived by the sword he would surely die by one. So since he has lived by illegality, there is nothing wrong if he was swept out of office through illegality.
'I would have been proud if a constitutionally laid down procedure was used in removing him, but even at that I think the people of the state are happy over his removal. And so to me, it is the wishes of the people that have prevailed."
Meanwhile, Members of the House of Representatives from Ekiti State have applauded the House for removing Governor Fayose, saying that it symbolized the end of dictatorship and the dawn of new era for the people of the state.
Hon Duro Faseyi and Hon Yemi Arokodare, in separate interviews, noted that the exit of the former governor would make the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stronger in Ekiti State, adding that the deposed governor was the main headache of the party in the state.
Arokodare, who is touted as the next deputy governor, said: 'My reaction would be that I am satisfied with all that has happened in Ekiti. It is for the good of the people.
Today, I am proud that I am an Ekitiman. My joy knows no bounds because of the rebirth in Ekiti. Event of today has made an average Ekiti man proud. It has restored our integrity, our qualities, our pride and honour. I am happy," he said.
On the post of deputy governor, Arokodare said that nobody had contacted him, adding that he was contented with representing his people at the National Assembly.
'I thank God and my people for the opportunity given me to represent them at the federal level. I think that I have represented them well and honestly. I am comfortable. I am not nursing such ambition. Nonetheless, I am happy with what I have been able to achieve," Arokodare said.
Hon Faseyi, on his part, disagreed that the support the federal lawmakers gave the impeachment plot was because of the ambition of one of them to be named deputy governor, adding that the support was to liberate the people for the stronghold of dictatorship.
'Look, we have removed the dictator and we have liberated Ekiti from the stronghold of dictatorship. I can assure you that we will deliver the state to the PDP next year; no shaking," Faseyi said.