The tortuous wait for truce or impeachment: Fayose vs APC lawmakers

Since the return of Mr. Ayodele Fayose as the Ekiti State Governor on October 16, the state has not known peace. The unending bickering among the executive and legislature has continued to make headlines, with different angle to the saga each passing day. While some believe that the All Progressives Congress (APC) are the cause of the problems owing to the electoral defeat suffered in the hands of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the poll, others think otherwise. According to the last-mentioned, Fayose, having won the election should have hit the ground running by mapping out ways to fulfil his promises made during electioneering. But this is hard to achieve in a situation where the state House of Assembly remains divided since seven months. PDP, APC stalemate Shortly after Fayose’s inauguration, the opposing camps in the House loyal to Fayose/PDP and Bola Tinubu/APC have been trading words on which side that should control Ekiti legislature.

This was evident in the suit filed last December by Dr. Adewale Omirin and 18 other lawmakers elected on the platform of the APC which urged a Federal High Court in Lagos to order the arrest and prosecution of their seven PDP colleagues for treasonable felony. The APC lawmakers, sought 22 declarative reliefs from the court, including an order directing Inspector General of Police/Commissioner of police to arrest their ‘rivals’ led by Dele Olugbemi and Olayinka Abeni holding the office of ‘Speaker’ and ‘Deputy Speaker’ respectively. The matter is still in court even as Omirin and his group keep alive the impeachment plot against Fayose. Reacting, sitting Speaker, Olugbemi dismissed the threat, describing it as a ploy by the APC to distract the administration of Fayose. The Speaker, in a petition forwarded to the State Commissioner of Police and Director of the Department of State Service, accused Omirin of forgery, impersonation and attempt to cause breach of public peace, said; “the House never sat at any time to deliberate, and or pass any Motion for Impeachment of Mr Ayodele Fayose.” The letter written to the State Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, dated April 4, 2015, Rt. Hon. Olugbemi said; “Dr Adewale Omirin, who signed the purported Impeachment Notice as Speaker of the State House of Assembly was duly impeached at the plenary session of the House on November 20, 2014.” Signed by Rt. Hon. Olugbemi and Clerk of the House, Joseph Tola Esan, it dissociated Ekiti Assemblyfrom the impeachment move. It said “Resolutions of the House of Assembly cannot be taken outside the precinct of the House and as at today, there is nothing in the records of proceedings of the Ekiti State House of Assembly to show that matter(s) on impeachment of Governor Ayodele Fayose was discussed in the hallowed chamber of the House of Assembly of Ekiti State.”

Olugbemi asked the Chief Judge to “disregard any correspondence from the Ekiti State House of Assembly, bearing the name and signature of Dr Adewale Omirin as Speaker of the House, until the court determines Suit No: PHC/L/CS/1823/14 challenging the outcome of the House sitting of November 20, 2014 in which he (Omirin) was duly impeached.”.

Disturbed by the conflict, Ekiti elders under the leadership of legal icon, Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) called a meeting between the two factions of the State House of Assembly and Fayose to resolve the imbroglio.

The meeting was scheduled to hold at Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti at 11am last Thursday.

However, the 19 lawmakers on the platform of the APC failed to attend for fear of arrest.

The lawmakers, in a statement issued by Omirin’s media aide, Wole Olujobi, said Fayose remained the main obstacle to peace in Ekiti State.

They wondered why a governor seeking peace should be on their trail and planning to kidnap some of them or in the alternative seize their children for ransom.

“We note the surveillance activities of the governor by the accurate and inaccurate accounts of our movements as posted on the Facebook wall of his aide, Lere Olayinka,” the statement noted.

“We can’t ignore the information by our usually reliable sources about this kidnap plan. The governor is capable of any evil.

“We have it on good authority that he is on our trail just to arrest some of us so that we don’t have the quorum for his impeachment.

“The alternative is to kidnap members of our family, particularly our children in their schools, by a faceless gang calling themselves a concerned Ekiti State non-political group to hide their political identity.

“They are to insist that the lawmakers must drop their impeachment plan or the children will be killed.

“The governor cannot swear with his Holy Bible that he did not celebrate the plan in the Government House to arrest us on our way to the peace meeting at Afe Babalola University,” the statement alleged.
Aare Afe Babalola reacts

The legal icon, disappointed by the turn of event, said the allegation of a hidden agenda was far from correct.

The statesman could not understand the alarm of arrest even when he had met with the Commissioner of Police who came all the way from Abuja to ensure that the peace meeting runs successfully.

“The Commissioner of Police and the SSS assured you in clear and unambigous term that such allegation is not only untrue but totally unfounded,” he said.

“They even assured that they have put in place over 200 police men to accompany you and your men to and fro Ado Ekiti.

“They also assured you that the power of arrest rests solely with the police and that they undertake not to arrest you.

“I have also undertaken to accompany the police to see you off the state after the meeting.

“I still hope that you would have a rethink and come for the peace meeting to which I have invited eminent Ekiti citizens from far and wide.”

Youths lambasts APC lawmakers

In their reaction, some youths under the aegis of Ekiti APC Youths Congress, berated Omirin and his colleagues for shunning the peace meeting.

They noted that Omirin and his colleagues are making Ekiti people to hate the APC the more because they are behaving as if they are bigger than the state and its people.

In a press statement issued on Thursday and jointly signed by Tope Ogunkuade and Comrade Tunji Adeleye, Convener and Secretary respectively, the EAYC said the personality of Aare Afe Babalola should be enough to convince anyone that is genuinely interested in the peace of Ekiti State to attend the meeting.

“If they had accused Governor Ayodele Fayose of planning to instigate the people to molest them, that would have made some kind of sense, not that childish claim that the governor planned to use police to arrest them.

“The question is, for what offence would they have been arrested? Or are they saying the police can just go about arresting people without committing any offence?” the group quipped.

APC accuse labour leaders of taking sides

Meanwhile, the Ekiti APC have alleged labour leaders in the state are conspiring with Fayose, to frustrate his impeachment.

State Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, said “It is wicked and selfish for labour leaders to go behind the workers to negotiate a multi-million naira deal for their private pockets while herding other workers on partisan protest that is clearly against the service rule.”

“The APC said the labour leaders should not drag the Ekiti workers into partisan politics, alleging that the labour leaders had abandoned the interests of their members to hobnob with the state government for personal benefits.”

APC added that some labour leaders had so far collected N30m from the state government for various solidarity rallies in the last six months, adding that the leaders would soon instigate the innocent workers to a politically-motivated industrial action that would last till the middle of June when the APC lawmakers would have left the Assembly.

APC further alleged that some leaders of the Nigeria Union of Teachers and the National Union of Local Government Employees were known card-carrying members of the PDP.

Supreme Court affirms Fayose’s victory

Till date, Fayose has managed to survive every action targeted towards removing him from power.

The biggest win for him so far is the triumph at the Supreme Court.

In a unanimous decision by a seven-man panel led by Justice John Fabiyi, the apex court upheld the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Ekiti State Governorship Election Tribunal, which had both earlier ruled that the petition challenging Fayose’s victory lacked merit.

In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, the court dismissed all the grounds of appeal filed by the petitioner, the APC, and resolved all four issues arising from the appeal against the party.

APC had hinged its case on the grounds of alleged irregularities, intimidation of its leaders by the military, ineligibility of Fayose to stand for the election and allegation that the PDP candidate forged his Higher National Diploma certificate presented to INEC.

The Justice Siraju-Mohammed-led tribunal had, in its verdict delivered on December 19, 2014, ‎dismissed the petition for lacking in merit.
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The Justice Abdul Aboki-led five-man panel on April 15, 2015 affirmed the decision of the tribunal.

Olive branch

At a thanksgiving service held at the Cathedral Church of Emmanuel, Anglican Communion, Ado Ekiti, to celebrate his victory at the Supreme Court, Fayose said he asked for forgiveness to pursue genuine peace.

“Waiving the olive branch does not mean cowardice, it is for peace.” he said.

According to him, “conspiracy is against God’s will. What better way could one seek peace other than asking for forgiveness.”

He said he didn’t fight anyone when he lost in the election for Senate in 2011, saying the mandate of God he is enjoying through the people of Ekiti cannot be controverted.

“If God that gave me victory cannot defend me, I better go home. If the people cannot defend the mandate they gave to me, I better go home. Power doesn’t come from man. Power belongs to God. Anyone against the voice of God is following Satan’s way.

“In a democracy, you need a simple majority to win elections, but I enjoy total majority. They want to take government by force, firing shots at people; that is coup against the people. They said they are coming again tomorrow, we are waiting for them,” Fayose added.
Pending suit

Despite his victory at the apex court and posterior subtle plea for leniency, Fayose knows it is not yet Uhuru as there is still a case seeking his ouster at a Federal High Court in Abuja.

Although Justice E. Chukwu has set aside all actions and activities of Omirin and others from November 21, 2014 till date, including the purported commencement of impeachment proceeding against Fayose and his Deputy, he has not closed the matter.

Speaker, Olugbemi and six others had filed the suit, seeking an order of the court to declare the seats of the 19 lawmakers vacant having abdicated their functions since November 21, 2014 and also an order restraining the police from aiding, abetting or assisting the lawmakers from carrying out any illegal act.

Hearing of the Motion on Notice has been adjourned till May 13.

But as the shuttle continue from Ekiti Government House to the courts, and from elders’ residences to homes of godfathers backing the two factions of the Assembly, one thing is clear: Nigerians can’t wait to hear of a genuine and long-lasting truce or an impeachment.

As it stands, APC lawmakers appear to have ruled out an agreement for purposes of integrity and resolve for justice they are hoping will come their way. They, however, have only one month to carry out their threat as their tenure ends in June.