Hottestgistnaija.com
By Kola Popson
The Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, has refused to constitute a panel to investigate Governor Ayodele Fayose and his deputy, Dr. Kolapo Olusola, over allegations and impeachment notice against them by the 19 lawmakers of All Progressives Congress. On the contrary, his counterpart in Ondo State, Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi, has set up a seven-man investigative panel to probe the state’s deputy governor, Alhaji Ali Olanusi.
It would be recalled that the embattled Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin, had, in a letter written on April 19, directed the State Chief Justice to constitute a seven-man panel to investigate allegations of impunity, violence, stalking and other constitutional breaches against the governor within seven days of receipt of the letter.
Reacting to this letter, the factional Speaker and leader of the Peoples Democratic Party caucus, Dele Olugbemi, had also asked the CJ to ignore the letter. However, the Chief Judge seems to have conformed to the directive of the factional Speaker, Hon. Olugbemi, as he is yet to constitute a panel two weeks after the directive of Hon. Adewale Omirin. It was reliably gathered that the Chief Judge had not acknowledged receipt of the letter two weeks after it was issued.This was confirmed by the Chief Registrar of the Ekiti State High Court, Mr. Obafemi Fasanmi, who had maintained that he was not aware of the letter directing the CJ to raise any panel.
Subsequently, this has led to a serious discrepancy between the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers and the APC lawmakers. While the monarchs firmly believe that the impeachment plot is against the will of the people of Ekiti as they had willingly given Gov. Fayose the mandate, the APC lawmakers believe that the traditional rulers are just being biased in the handling of the crisis. It would be recalled that the Chairman of the council and Onitaji of Itaji, Oba Adamo Babalola, had issued a statement commending the Chief Judge for “rising above partisan positions to uphold the tenet of his office despite obvious pressure from interested quarters.”
Also the monarch had appealed to Justice Daramola, in that statement, to ensure that the popular wish of the generality of the people is not undermined. Similarly, they had urged the governor to give considerable measures that will ease the sufferings of the agitating legislators who have not been paid salaries and allowances since November, though the council expressed its disappointment on the lawmakers, who had abandoned the state for months to resurface shortly after Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of the APC was declared the President-elect. According to them, this action of the lawmakers was unpatriotic.
On a very similar case, the Chief Judge of Ondo State, Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi, has constituted a panel to investigate the Ondo State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, on the allegations of gross misconduct moved against him by the Ondo State House of Assembly. In a letter dated April 23, 2015, Justice Kumuyi noted that he had heeded the call of the House to set up the panel, in accordance to Section 188(5) of the Constitution. The CJ’s letter has shown that the seven-man impeachment panel would be chaired by a retired Chief Magistrate in the state, Mr. Olatunji Adeniyan. Other members of the panel include Mr. Aladesanmi Akingbade, Mr.Ademola Ekundayo, Mr. Richard Obafemi, Mr. Abraham Mathew, Alhaji Ibrahim Shodeinde and Mrs. Eunice Yinka Obadele.
In his official letter to the House, Justice Kumuyi has noted, “In line with the provision of Section 188(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, I have set up a seven-man panel to investigate the allegations against the Deputy Governor as required by the Constitution.”
It would be recalled that just like Governor Fayose of Ekiti State; Alhaji Olanusi had been issued with a notice of impeachment by the Ondo State House of Assembly. The House had, in that notice, listed seven impeachable offences, including gross misconduct, sabotage, financial misappropriation and truancy against the deputy governor. It is important to note that the impeachment move against the deputy governor surfaced barely three weeks after Olanusi has defected from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) – the defection which occurred few hours to the March 28 presidential election.
The Ondo State lawmakers had also indicted Olanusi for “acting to undermine the office of the governor by causing political disaffection and deliberately working at cross purposes with the governor and the executive council of the state with a view to destabilizing the state government.” In the same vein, he was also accused of playing truancy, particularly on April 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 and Monday, April 20, 2015, when he allegedly shunned official engagements without lawful excuse.
