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LETTER TO EKITI STAKEHOLDERS
November 24, 2014
Dear Stakeholder,
GOVERNOR FAYOSE’S ONE MONTH OF ANGUISH IN EKITI: SO THAT THE WORLD MAY KNOW
You will recall that Ekiti State under the watch of Governor Kayode Fayemi was peaceful in the 48 months that he was in the saddle. Similarly, the tenures of Governor Fayemi’s predecessors, Governors Niyi Adebayo and Segun Oni were equally peaceful. However, the peace in the State had suffered a serious breach since the emergence of Mr. Ayo Fayose as the PDP candidate, and this continued throughout the period of the campaign to the election and his inauguration. It got worse since he became Governor a month ago. His emergence as the PDP flag bearer was heralded by acrimonies among his co-contestants who protested that the process which produced him was not transparent, as some of the aspirants were tear-gased and prevented from entering the venue of the primaries. The campaign witnessed violence from the camp of Mr. Ayo Fayosewho always went around with roughnecks that once attacked the convoy of the then Governor Kayode Fayemi before the June 21, 2014 election.
Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose was elected Governor by the people of Ekiti State on June 21, 2014. It was the second time he will be elected by Ekiti people. He could not complete his first term as Governor as he only occupied office between May 2003 and October 2006 and was impeached over gross misconduct bordering on financial misdemeanor, a case he is presently answering at a Federal High Court. Mr. Fayose’s first tenure witnessed serial violence that wasmost of the time, planned and executed with his full involvement and approval. He was indicted on many of these violent acts by security reports. Fingers were pointed at him for the murder of Tunde Omojola in Ifaki-Ekiti on May 28, 2004 during a Councillorship bye–election and the assassination of Dr. Ayodeji Daramola, a World Bank consultant and PDP gubernatorial aspirant on August 14, 2006.
When he asked the people of Ekiti-State to give him another chance to govern as a changed man, he sought their votes though he didn’t promise them any serious developmental agenda other than a promise that he had changed and his sloganeering that he is their friend. Not a few hadtheir doubts about his professed change of attitude but many others fell for his deceptive antics,which he is very good at, and voted him into power.
Even though his victory was mysterious and strange, Governor Fayemi appealed for calm on June 22nd as tension was high and the invading Federal troops who came to ensure Mr. Fayose’svictory were ready to kill as many Ekitis as possible who may protest the strange victory. The APC later took the case against the victory of Mr. Fayose to the court and it is still pending at the tribunal.
Hardly was he declared Governor-Elect than he bared his fangs against his perceived enemies. Those who thought Mr. Fayose had changed were disappointed, as he picked up his armour of violence from where he left it in 2006. He first descended on the Judiciary and crushed her! A case of eligibility had been instituted by an Ekiti State-based organization, the E-11, and a political party, the Citizens’ Popular Party, against Mr. Ayo Fayose. The matter was not concluded before the election was held but parties were told by the court that the matter would continue after the election except if Mr. Fayose loses the election and all parties to the case agreed. Mr. Fayose won the election and the case continued.
At the resumed trial of the case on Monday, September 22, 2014, after Mr. Fayose had emerged Governor–Elect, hell was let loose when suspected PDP thugs stormed the High Court premises and attacked the trial judge, Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi, some litigants and judicial workers in a bid to prevent hearing in the case.
A worse assault on the Judiciary was to follow on Wednesday September 25 when pandemonium ensued at the premises of the Ekiti State High Court as then Governor–elect, Mr Ayo Fayoseordered his thugs to beat up a judge, Justice John Adeyeye, for what he described as the judge’s “rudeness to him”. The judge was beaten by thugs and his suit torn into shreds. The pandemonium that ensued scuttled the Ekiti State Governorship Election petition Tribunal sitting billed to hold that day. The door to the office of the Chief Judge was broken and court records on his table were torn while his secretary was also beaten up. The windscreen of the vehicle of the tribunal Chairman was shattered in the process. This necessitated the relocation of the EkitiElections Petition Tribunal to Abuja where it is presently sitting. The Court of Appeal which was in the same premises was equally relocated to Ilorin before it was later returned to Ado-Ekiti.
In the evening of Wednesday, September 25, a leader of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Mr. Omolafe Aderiye, was murdered by yet-to-be-identified gunmen. In response to the assassination, Mr. Fayose’s supporters who invaded and sacked the court the previous day, went on rampage. They attacked APC members and burnt down its local government office, state party secretariat and the situation office of Governor Kayode Fayemiwhile the security agents who had been compromised looked the other way.
The violence that pervaded the state capital, the sacking of the courts by hoodlums loyal to Mr. Ayo Fayose and the conspiratorial role of the security forces who watched helplessly as judges, lawyers and litigants were assaulted, led to the closure of Ekiti State courts by the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Ayodeji Daramola. The National Judicial Council (NJC) after deliberating on Ekiti matter in its emergency meeting of Monday September 29, 2014 directed that the court should be reopened and the eligibility case against Mr. Fayose should continue while the security agents were directed to provide security to the judges. The security agents carried out the directive of the NJC but in a reverse order as a battalion of soldiers mounted guard at the court entrance and premises to prevent judges and lawyers from gaining entrance, including the Chief Judge of the State. The security agents claimed to be acting on orders from above not to allow any judge or lawyer into the court premises.
The court was only reopened when the assignment to prevent the hearing of the eligibility case against Mr. Fayose had been accomplished. By the time the court was reopened towards the middle of October, the trial judge, Justice Ogunyemi, had suffered series of harassment and life- threatening calls to him and so he declined and withdrew from the case. Apart from physical harassment of Justice Ogunyemi and the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Mr. Fayose and his agents employed blackmail as they accused the judges of collecting bribes ranging from N20 million to N200 million to return a guilty verdict on Governor Fayose. Governor Fayose was eventually sworn in on October 16, 2014 by the same Chief Judge whom he had accused of receiving bribe to stall his inauguration.
Mr. Fayose’s speech on inauguration day was a pointer to the anguish that members of the opposition were to expect. In a manner that shocked the whole world, Mr. Fayose observed a minute silence for the repose of the souls of all APC members whom he said had died! He boasted that he would drive all APC members out of Ekiti. Those who expected the new Governor to make a reconciliatory speech held their mouths agape as they watched the Governor boast to deal ruthlessly with the opposition and poured invectives on his predecessor, Governor Kayode Fayemi. In the over 30 days he has spent in the office so far, it has been one day one trouble in Ekiti State. He has discounted rule of law and replaced it with the rule of the thumb where impunity reigns supreme. We catalogue this as below:
1. On October 16, he changed the logo of Ekiti State without recourse to the House of Assembly which approved the logo and passed it into law.
2. He unilaterally dissolved 19 LCDAS created by the House of Assembly without recourse to the House of Assembly that established them. He equally dissolved the Caretaker Committee duly ratified by the House of Assembly in the 16 LGAS and 19 LCDAS without the approval of the House of Assembly. He later sent a letter to the House of Assembly requesting to reconstitute 16 LGAs after the matter had been taken to court but he went ahead to reconstitute the caretaker in the 16 LGAs with an illegal sitting of the House of Assembly on November 17, 2014.
3. He closed down the Federal Government College in Isan without any reason other than to punish the people of that town because Kayode Fayemi hails from there.
4. On November 5 2014, he closed down the College of Agriculture, Isan, which was established by the law of House of Assembly, and directed that the tractors be driven to an unknown location. He did this to frustrate commercial agricultural scheme started by Fayemi, which has made young entrepreneurs in agriculture big income earners and employers of labour, even as the governor insisted that the Ministry of Agriculture’s irrigation project is no longer a priority.
5. On Sunday October 19 2014, he went to the church for thanksgiving and prostrated for God vowing to have forgiven all his adversaries and promised not to go on any revenge mission against his perceived enemies. But that is the exact opposite of what he did few hours after by sealing off the petrol stations belonging to opposition politicians especially the Speaker of the House of Assembly on the flimsy excuse that the petrol station was built within residential buildings when many other petrol stations are within residential buildings but were not touched.
6. On Sunday November 2 2014, the State Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, was blackmailed and embarrassed on State radio and television as having collected a bribe of N200 million naira from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu so that he can instruct Justice Ogunyemiwho was the trial judge in the eligibility case against the Governor, to return a guilty verdict against him. Justice Ogunyemi, who was the third Judge to be blackmailed over the eligibility case instituted by a socio-cultural group e-11 and a political party, Citizens Popular Party, has withdrawn from the case.
7. On Tuesday November 11 2014, Governor Fayose’s letter to the House of Assemblyrequesting that his three Commissioner nominees be screened, was read at the plenary session. But by the rule of the House, his Commissioners were supposed to be referred to the appropriate Committee that would first screen them using their credentials. It is during the screening that there may be petitions against them which would be treated at that Committee before they are invited to the open plenary where they will be asked questions across party lines concerning their Ministries. Such nominees may either be asked to take a bow or may be rejected by the House depending on how he answers the questions. This is the parliamentary practice everywhere including the National Assembly. The credentials of the Commissioner nominees were not also attached to the letter and the Governor was asked to do the needful and follow due process. Secondly, the request of the Governor to reconstitute the caretaker committee members in 16 LGAs could not be debated because the matter was in court but his request to obtain the N2billion naira micro-finance loan that will benefit many Ekiti people was approved.
8. On November 12 2014, Governor Fayose’s response to the non-clearance of his Commissioner Nominees and Caretaker committee members was to first blackmail the APC members in the House of Assembly that they were demanding N135 million from him before passing his Commissioners and Caretaker Committee members. A claim that is not true. This embarrassing news was broadcast on the state radio and television on October 11, 2014 and ran through October 12, 2014 news bulletins. The Governorimmediately froze the account of the House of Assembly to teach them a lesson!
9. On Monday November 17 2014, Mr. Fayose masterminded seven members to take over the House of Assembly by force and conducted an illegal sitting where his list of Commissioners and LGAs Committee members were illegally ratified without the Speaker and other principal members of the House and without the required quorum. The Clerk of the House was rough handled and bundled to the Chambers with the mace where the illegal sitting took place. Three other non-lawmakers impersonated and sat with the lawmakers to make up their number as 10. This is to deceive the unsuspecting public that they formed a quorum. APC members who came early to the House for their usual Parliamentary sessions were prevented from entering the House. As at the time the seven PDP lawmakers were holding their illegal sitting in Ado Ekiti, the 19 APC lawmakersincluding the Speaker and his Deputy were on a live programme on Adaba FM in Akure. There are 26 members in the House of Assembly, if 19 were on a radio programme in Akure, only 7 or less will be sitting in the Assembly and if they are more than 7, it means they are rented! The House of Assembly by rule does not hold plenary on Mondays but Parliamentary sittings!
10. On the evening of the same day, November 17 2014, the Governor announced the sack ofof the official aides of the Speaker, Deputy and the Majority Leader including the Special Advisers and the Chief of Staff legally approved by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The aides so sacked were appointed by the House of Assembly service Commission and their appointments were at the mercy of the Speaker!
11. On Tuesday November 18 2014, the Governor continued the assault on the legislative arm by sealing off the office of the Speaker while the key was taken to the Governor’s office. In addition to this, the electricity supply to the Speaker’s residence was disconnected while his official cars and drivers were withdrawn!
12. Again, on Thursday, November 20 2014, the same seven PDP members reconvened their “sitting” with three fake members where Dr Adewale Omirinwas declared “impeached” while Dele Olugbemi was declared the Speaker and Adunni Modupe Olayinka the Deputy Speaker. Like on Monday, they were provided with security cover. Journalists were not informed of the sitting. They brought one journalist who was the sole reporter allowed access into the chamber. The illegal sitting by PDP seven members was taking place in Ado-Ekiti at the same time ALL 19 members of APC were holding a world press conference in Lagos. While it takes nine members to reconvene for a sitting, it takes two-third of the membership in an impeachment process to sack a Speaker, which is a minimum of 18 members in Ekiti State House of Assembly. Thereafter, Hon. Joseph Olugbemi went to the Speaker’s official residence with thugs who forcedthe door open, looted the personal effects of the Speaker, Dr. Adewale Ominrinand occupied the lodge. The security details of the Speaker were withdrawn same day.
13. After accusing and abusing Gov Kayode Fayemi of being extravagant, he awarded thecontract to put marble in front of the new Government House on Oke Ayoba, repainting of the newly painted building, relaying of interlocking tiles and relaying of asphalt on an already asphalted road leading to the lodge. All these were awarded to his sister’s company without following due process. All artisans working on the tiling and painting are brought from Ibadan when there are Ekiti artisans who can do the job yet, Mr. Fayosepretends to be a friend of the masses and has on many occasions accused Governor Fayemi of giving contracts to foreigners.
14. The painting of the Governor’s office was equally awarded by direct labour at the cost of N200m to his blood brother popularly known as BIMDOK without due process.
15. He annulled the appointment of 8 permanent Secretaries made by his predecessor, Governor, Kayode Fayemi.
16. He collected September Allocation and used it to pay October salary while refusing to pay September salary.
17. He has slashed the allowance of 800 street sweepers from N10, 000 to N5,000
18. He slashed the feeding allowance of the physically challenged students in the state’s threeschools for the physically challenged by 60%. These students have nobody except God to take care of them. The present N100 feeding allowance per day which was effected by Governor Fayemi from the earlier inadequate N60 naira per day was not even enough not to talk of slashing it again. This is ungodly and wicked!
19. He slashed the running grants to Civil Servants even though he said he would increase the grants during his campaign.
20. The Governor slashed the allowances of traditional rulers by 60 percent
21. Three teachers including a pregnant woman died in an accident while coming from unnecessary screening exercise as directed by Mr Fayose who had earlier told the teachers he would not bother them with such exercise if voted into power. One month in office, he broke his promise.
22. There is insecurity of lives and property as all banks in the State for the first time in history, refused to open for business to protest incessant armed robberies because Mr. Fayose has slashed the security vote due to the security agents as a result of which gave them logistics problems in combating crime.
23. The state Internally Generated Revenue started declining from N400 million in June (immediately he was declared Governor-Elect). It has now gone down to an embarrassing N120 million in November from N600m attained by Fayemi in the last three and half years.
24. Governor Fayose promised Ekiti State University students during his campaign to reduce their school fees but he has not fulfilled his electoral promise of reducing school fees in Ekiti State University.
25. Between the hours of 8pm on November 22 and 4am on November 23 2014, the homes of each of the 19 APC members were visited with a group of men in dark suits suspected to be hired assassins who were banging their gates and looking for them. Mr. Fayose had blackmailed the APC lawmakers of staying in Lagos and charged them to come back to Ekiti only to lay landmines for them after he had also accused them of planning to storm the State with thugs. Mr. Fayose did all these so that the APC members would not return to the Assembly and at the same time portrays them to the whole world as having abandoned their duties as lawmakers!
As if all the above are not enough, the Governor’s bare-faced lies and unguarded statements such as saying he goes to beer parlours every Friday to meet the masses and his strange behaviourshave made Ekiti a butt of jokes everywhere. In all of this circus show, Mr. Fayose is yet to draw up a clear-cut developmental agenda for Ekiti people if there is any! It is a pity that rather than celebrating one month of progress and development from where his predecessor stopped, the new administration is busy chasing shadows, boring the people with the same old tale of what his predecessor did or did not do. Part of his hypocrisy is deceiving the people that he lives a modest life style when he doesn’t. As Governor-Elect, he purchased a N43 million naira Range Rover Jeep and passed the bill to the then Governor Fayemi but he came to his inauguration venue with a 1956 Mercedes Benz to deceive the people. Ironically, he was the first to go to the press to allege that Fayemi owed heavily when he was a part of the debt!
We are notifying you about all Mr. Fayose has done to bring our state to ridicule and make life difficult for our people cutting across all segments of the population whom he promised life more abundant on getting to office. Just like a member of his party, Senator Arise’s remark that a strange spirit has entered Mr. Fayose since he assumed office, the spirit is getting more dangerous by the day. As a stakeholder in Ekiti project, we cannot fold our arms and allow Mr. Fayose to ruin our collective heritage by denigrating all our institutions like the judiciary and the executive. We shall use all legal and constitutional means to tame the bulldog that Mr. Fayosehas become because Ekiti is not his property but a collective belonging of all of us. We like to remind all of us about the famous warning of Edmund Burke, “All that it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing”. Let us all rise against tyranny in our state!
High Chief Jide Awe
State Chairman.
