The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ekiti

  • Probe human right abuses in Ekiti – NANS

    Probe human right abuses in Ekiti – NANS

    The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has called for a probe of alleged human right abuses in Ekiti State.

    The students’ body also called for immediate resumption of Ekiti State University (EKSU) decrying the collapse of academic activities in the institution for over a month.

    Addressing a news conference in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday, NANS Vice President (External Affairs), Oluwatosin Ogunkuade, expressed shock that a government that is claiming that it has no money to pay academic staff is “spending heavily on political jamboree.”

    He condemned what he called “total neglect and condemnable abandonment if the education sector in Ekiti State” saying it is surprised that the state government is “looking the other way when students are idling away at home due to its inability to fulfill obligations to lecturers and other workers of EKSU.

    The NANS chief congratulated General Muhammadu Buhari on his victory at the March 28 presidential election saying it was noteworthy that the All Progressives Congress (AC) candidate won in all polling units across all campuses in Nigeria.

    Ogunkuade said President Goodluck Jonathan’s concession of defeat was a legacy handed down by former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi which he said has added value to the nation’s democracy.

    Stressing the need to uphold the rule of law in Ekiti, the students’ leader regretted violence and attacks on political opponents in Ekiti State Mai training that the alleged infringement of citizens’ fundamental human rights must not be swept under the carpet.

    He said: “We have noted with keen interest the ongoing political development in Ekiti State and we wish to state that he who must come to equity must come with clean hands.

    “Let us recall that preparatory to the March 28th Presidential and National Assembly Election, a lot of incidence of violence and gross abuse of human rights sponsored and spear headed by the Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose was experienced in Ekiti State, of particular interest is the attack and subsequent arrest of myself and my comrades after our eventful outing at General Muhammadu Buhari Rally in Ekiti State on Saturday 24th January 2014.

    “We believe that these numerous cases of infringement on the fundamental human rights of Ekiti People must not be swept under the carpet.

    “Therefore, the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, welcomes and throws our weight behind all legal and legitimate moves to restore sanity and dignity to Governance in Ekiti State.”

    He urged Nigerian students to come out en masse on Saturday and exercise their franchise in the governorship and House of Assembly elections nationwide to consolidate democracy.

     

  • Impeachment: Monarchs, Elders, Clerics meet in Ekiti

    Impeachment: Monarchs, Elders, Clerics meet in Ekiti

    Apparently concerned by the violent dimension the raging impeachment crisis has assumed, traditional rulers and eminent citizens of Ekiti State are scheduled to hold a meeting Wednesday to broker peace among warring parties.

    Normalcy has returned to Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, following Tuesday’s violent protests and an attempt to overrun the House of Assembly by loyalists of Governor Ayo Fayose who have denounced moves to impeach him from office.

    Although the State Council of Obas is due to hold an emergency meeting on the impeachment crisis, The Nation gathered that arrangements have been concluded to expand the scope of the parley to accommodate some eminent citizens of the state.

    The Nation’s findings at the Bureau of Chieftaincy Affairs on Wednesday revealed that finishing touches were being put to the meeting.

    The meeting expected to be presided over by the Chairman of the State Council of Obas and Onitaji of Itaji-Ekiti, Oba Adamo Babalola.

    Other eminent citizens incorporated into the meeting, according to our investigation, are Catholic Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, the Most Reverend Felix Ajakaye; Anglican Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, the Right Reverend Christopher Omotunde; the Grand Imam of Ekiti State, Alhaji Jamiu Kewulere; elder statesman, Chief Oladeji Fasuan and eminent lawyer, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN).

    Meanwhile, relative peace has returned to the state as more residents came out on Wednesday to pursue their legitimate businesses unlike on Tuesday when many of them either went back home or stayed indoors.

    Government offices, corporate organizations, markets and other commercial centres opened their shops for business even though they did so late for fear of recurrence of Tuesday’s violence.

    Banks which closed hurriedly on Tuesday when violence escalated were besieged by customers on Wednesday as banking halls and Automated Teller Machines (ATM) Points witnessed winding queues.

    Taxi cabs and commercial motorcyclists who bore the brunt of the attacks by thugs the previous day plied their pride unhindered.

    But residents were still gripped with fear over presence of suspected thugs and drivers’ unions members at Moremi Park area of Ado-Ekiti.

    They had stormed the place early as 7.00 am in anticipation of the coming of the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers. They all parked their buses fully loaded with their members and didn’t leave the place until 2.00 pm.

    Riot policemen, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were still keeping watch over the House of Assembly complex with full complements of Armored Personnel Carriers and other security vehicles.

     

  • Impeachment: Thugs shut down Ekiti

    Impeachment: Thugs shut down Ekiti

    All was tense yesterday in Ado-Ekiti as the 19 lawmakers who issued Governor Ayode Fayose an impeachment notice were barred from entering the state capital.

    A woman, Modupe Olaiya, was reportedly killed in the wave of protests in many parts of the state against moves to remove Fayose from office.

    Olaiya, according to eyewitnesses, was shot dead in Efon Alaaye during a protest that greeted the arrival in the town of the lawmakers who were on their way to Ado-Ekiti.

    A statement from Speaker Adewale Omirin denied the death rumour.

    The APC lawmakers ran into a barricade erected on the Ado-Ilesa-Aramoko Highway by the protesters at Itawure on the outskirts of Efon.

    The police fired gunshots to disperse the protesters who had held up traffic.

    Soldiers mounting a checkpoint at Efon-Itawure junction stopped the APC lawmakers from proceeding on their trip to Ado-Ekiti for their planned sitting.

    It was not clear at press time whose directive the soldiers were carrying out.

    Many parts of the state  were shut down as suspected political thugs and members of drivers’ unions took over all roads leading into Ado-Ekiti and boundary towns.

    The hemp-smoking and arms-bearing hoodlums blocked the federal highways as early as 6.30 am with trailers, luxury buses, logs of wood and other objects to prevent human and vehicular traffic.

    They were acting on information that the APC lawmakers were on their way to Ado-Ekiti to hold a sitting at the House of Assembly to deliberate on the notice of impeachment issued Fayose and his deputy, Kolapo Olusola.

    The lawmakers are accusing Fayose of eight impeachable offences.

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members and hoodlums staged violent protests on the streets of Ado-Ekiti and other towns, warning architects of the planned impeachment to shelve the idea or face their wrath.

    They protested in Ajilosun, Ijigbo, Odo-Ado, Old Garage, Okesa, Ojumose and Secretariat Road.

    Other communities rocked by protests are: Ikere, Ise, Efon Alaaye, Aisegba, Iworoko, Ogotun and Igbemo.

    Some of the roads affected are Ado-Ikere Road which leads to Akure, the Ondo State capital,  Ado-Iworoko Road, which leads to Kwara, Kogi, Abuja and other northern states,Ado-Iyin-Igede Road, which leads to Ibadan and Lagos, Ado-Ijan Road, which leads to Ikare in Ondo State.

    Passengers were stranded as the thugs made bonfires in many parts of Ado-Ekiti and other towns, such as Ikere-Ekiti, Ifaki-Ekiti, Igede-Ekiti and Oye-Ekiti.

    Civil servants and others who live in Akure, the Ondo State capital, but work in Ado-Ekiti could not enter Ekiti State capital. Others who live in Ado and work in Akure were prevented from going to their places of work.

    Some final year secondary school students writing their Senior School Certificate Examinations outside the state capital could not get vehicles to convey them to their schools.

    Motorists and commuters passing through Ikere-Ekiti were stopped and searched by soldiers stationed around Odo-Oja Roundabout and on the outskirts of the town before being allowed to proceed with their journeys.

    Taxi drivers and mini buses plying intra city routes had a harrowing experience in the hands of the hoodlums who maintained that nobody would be allowed to pass.

    Many residents who were on their way to work returned to their homes because of the tense situation. Some of those who ventured out with the hope of boarding taxi cabs returned home, frustrated, after waiting for hours.

    Soldiers and riot policemen later moved round the city to clear the barricades and bonfires erected by the hoodlums.

    Markets, shops, and government offices were closed. Major markets in the state capital, sujch as Erekesan and Bisi, were quiet.

    A band of hoodlums stationed at Oye-Ayede-Isan junction in Oye-Ekiti stopped  a group of journalists from plying the road, claiming that “it is only a permission from the governor that they would be allowed passage”.

    Vehicles going to Kogi State and Abuja from Kwara State were stopped by the thugs. Passengers were stranded at Oye junction.

    A government-owned Ashok Leyland luxury bus was used to block one section of Ado-Ifaki Road, leaving a very little space for vehicles to meander through.

    The House of Assembly’s vicinity was like a war zone as scores of battle-ready riot policemen stood guard at the Secretariat Road junction leading to the complex, preventing vehicular movement.

    Another platoon of riot policemen blocked the Saliu Adeoti Road, which leads to the Assembly.

    They had earlier dislodged a band of thugs who had stormed the Assembly complex.

    One of the vehicles conveying the thugs to the Assembly complex, a blue Toyota Hilux van marked AA 363 YEK was impounded by the police after it occupants reportedly engaged security men in a shootout.

    The Assembly complex and the House of Assembly Service Commission gates were locked. Another set of armed policemen and operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) stood guard.

    Eyewitnesses confirmed to reporters in Ado-Ekiti that the APC lawmakers were allegedly coming from Osun State and had rammed into the barricade mounted by the protesters at Ita Ore , a border town between

    The Head of Service, Gbenga Faseluka, and organised labour under the

    leaderships of Trade Union Congress (TUC)  and Nigeria Labour Congress (NUC), had besieged the Assembly in protest, warning the lawmakers against plunging the state into violence.

    Labour, in a statement signed by NLC  Secretary Ade Obatoye, TUC Secretary Joseph Adebayo  and JNC Secretary  Oladele Ayodeji , told workers to see the development as a way of fomenting trouble and put their lives at risk.

    Also yesterday, Igbemo-Ekiti residents, led by Chief Agamago  Adetunji, visited the governor, declaring their support for him.

    “Ekiti people elected you to be their leader and no power under the earth can remove you.

    “We are praying for you and assuring you that you will win all the 26 Assembly seats during Saturday’s polls,” Adetunji told Fayose.

    The Deputy Governor, who responded on behalf of the governor, likened the APC lawmakers’ action to the biblical war of Egypt against the people of Israel. He is confident that the governor will triumph over his  enemies.

     

     

  • Vote for APC, Fasanmi urges Ekiti

    The deputy leader of Afenifere, Senator Ayo Fasanmi has called on the people of Ekiti State to vote for the All Progressives Council (APC) candidates for the House of Assembly election on Saturday.

    Fasanmi said, in a statement, that Ekiti State has abandoned a long tradition and isolated itself from other Yoruba states. He urged the people to return to the legacy of Awolowo by voting for the APC.

    “Ekiti people should be informed that the progressives are in control of the Federal Government which policies will be progressive and in tune with the political tradition of Ekiti people. Therefore a vote for APC candidates on April 11 will bring benefits to people of Ekiti State and weaken the hold of the PDP on the state. Support for the PDP, on the other hand, will only lead to marginalisation of Ekiti State.

    “Ekiti people have a long and enviable history of supporting progressive political parties such as Action Group in the 1950s , the Unity Party of Nigeria in the 80s  and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the early 90s.”

    He recalled that  Ekiti people also voted for Alliance for Democracy (AD) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) both of them with progressive inclination in this present political dispensation.

     

  • Soldiers bar 19 APC lawmakers from entering Ekiti

    Soldiers bar 19 APC lawmakers from entering Ekiti

    The nineteen All Progressive Congress members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly were on Tuesday barred from entering Ado-Ekiti, the state capital by soldiers.

    The lawmakers led by their Speaker, Rt. Hon. Wale Ominrin, were allegedly stopped at Itawure by armed soldiers on the order from the above.

    In company of other eighteen members, the majority leader of the House, Hon. Churchil Adedipe, at a press briefing in Osogbo, gave a graphic illustration of how they were stopped by their soldiers even when the police was ready to escort them into the state.

    Adedipe, who said they had earlier notified the police about their coming into the state for their legislative duties, vowed that they would not be deterred to impeach Ekiti state governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose over allegations of constitutional breaches.

    Adedipe said that he suspected that the soldiers, who stopped them from entering Ekiti State were acting on instruction from Brig. Gen. Aliyu Momoh commanding 32 Artillery Brigade, Akure.

    ‎Adedipe said for over two hours, the soldiers prevented them from proceeding to Ado Ekiti, adding that information gathered by some of the lawmakers who made calls to people waiting for them at the state
    assembly indicated that Governor Fayose had brought thugs to the premises of the Assembly.

    ‎The lawmaker exercised the fear that Fayose might sponsor some thugs to attack them and to burn their houses in order to prevent being impeached, but said that “we want to assure him that any moment from now, we are going back to Ado Ekiti.‎”

    ‎Earlier, the Speaker, Wale Omirin, said Fayose has committed impeachable offences and would be impeached.

    The Speaker said the nineteen legislators had fixed their sitting for Tuesday to continue legislative business on the investigation into allegations levelled against Governor Fayose but the governor sent some soldiers and thugs to prevent them from sitting.
    ‎
    According to him: “Despite officially writing the Commissioner of Police, Taiwo Lakanu, informing him of our sitting, Governor Fayose, his Special Adviser on Political Matters and Commissioner for Works still led thugs into the premises of the assembly to disrupt activities there.

  • Impeachment crisis: Ekiti Obas call for peace

    Impeachment crisis: Ekiti Obas call for peace

    The Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers has urged parties locked in the raging impeachment crisis to sheathe their swords and allow peace to reign.

    The monarchs have scheduled an emergency meeting for Thursday to deliberate on the political situation in the state with a view to finding solution to the crisis.

    The Chairman of the Obas’ Council, Oba Adamo Babalola, warned against resort to violence urging any aggrieved party to approach the court for redress.

    Babalola who is also the Onitaji of Itaji-Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area revealed that several attempts had been made in the past to resolve the House of Assembly crisis without success which necessitated the latest move.

    He said: “We have been told the runaway legislators are coming back to Ekiti State and that impeachment notice has been served.

    “I don’t know whether that is true, but we need to give peace a chance and allow the Obas to come in deliberate on the matter.

    “We have made attempts severally to settle the dispute between the executive and legislative arms. The legislators did not answer us.

    “I don’t know why coming to Ekiti should involve impeachment. We will hold a meeting on Thursday to deliberate on the matter.

    “People should maintain peace and people should not be disallowed from doing their businesses. The court is there for adjudication and we should make use of that.”

  • Impeachment: Fayose supporters block Assembly complex

    Impeachment: Fayose supporters block Assembly complex

    Scores of supporters of Governor Ayo Fayose on Monday blocked all access roads leading to the Ekiti State House of Assembly Complex in a bid to prevent any impeachment proceedings.

    They had arrived the vicinity as early as 8.00 am and staged a protest around the Assembly complex saying they would never allow any impeachment process against Fayose to see the light of the day.

    Their action was consequent upon a rumor that the 19 All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers who form majority in the Assembly would storm the complex to hold a sitting to impeach Fayose from office.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) loyalists stormed the Assembly area singing pro-Fayose songs and cursed the APC lawmakers for harboring plans to remove the governor whom they claim is innocent of the impeachable offences.

    Backed by some government and party officials who were there to give them solidarity, they used a government-owned Ashok Leyland luxury bus to block the access road-Saliu Adeoti Road-to prevent the opposition lawmakers from gaining access to the complex.

    Among prominent PDP members who were present to give them moral support are Deputy Governor Kolapo Olusola, former House of Assembly Speaker, Olatunji Odeyemi and Special Assistant on Information, Youth and Sports, Lanre Ogunsuyi.

    Not less than nine Toyota Hilux vans belonging to the Police and Department of State Services (DSS) containing heavily armed operatives were parked at two main entrances leading to the Assembly complex.

    The PDP members later turned the blockade into a roadshow singing and dancing to music at the gate of the House of Assembly Service Commission office which used to be the former Assembly complex.

    They were prevented from coming near the new Assembly complex by the battle-ready and stern-looking security men drafted there to maintain law and order.

    Many of them who were weary of singing and dancing and could no longer withstand the heat of the sun sat under canopies placed in front of the old Assembly complex.

    Addressing reporters on the purpose of the blockade, Ogunsuyi said Ekiti people are ready to take their destiny in their hand by fighting for the mandate they gave to Fayose on June 21 last year.

    The governor’s aide insisted that all the actions of the APC lawmakers reeked of illegality and impunity saying Dr. Adewale Omirin is no longer the Speaker and lacks the power to preside over the Assembly.

    Ogunsuyi added that Omirin is already in court challenging his impeachment saying he cannot be laying claim to the speakership at the same time adding that the APC caucus are desecrating the rule of law and the Constitution.

    He said: “The new Nigeria which President Goodluck Jonathan and Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari all campaigned for is the one that would respect the Rule of Law.

    “With this convergence, you can see that the people are standing by their Governor. They are ready to defend their mandate.

    “Nobody asked Omirin and other APC lawmakers not to come to the Assembly, they only decided to abdicate their duties since last year November 17.

    “Impeachment procedure does not start and end with Assembly alone. The Judiciary is involved, so this plan is highly condemnable.

    “We want to emphasize that they are welcome as long as they are concerned about making laws for the progress of the State, but if it was meant to come and impeach Governor Fayose, we won’t allow that.”

    Ogunsuyi, however said the Governor as the leader of the State will continue to wave the olive branch to the opposition lawmakers for Ekiti to remain in peace and harmony.

    He said: “We don’t want any unwholesome issue because the task of developing Ekiti is an onerous task that needed to be pursue with vigour. The Governor doesn’t want any distraction and that is why he has been pursuing peace at all times.

    “We want some measures of decorum in Ekiti; we are not proud of the era whereby we had three governors within a week. We want a stable government and that we will continue to pursue for Ekiti to be at peace”.

    Also speaking on the development, Odeyemi appealed to the APC House members to allow peace to reign in the state saying the image of Ekiti is at stake nationally and internationally.

    Odeyemi advised the APC lawmakers to put the interest of the state above personal or partisan interests warning that breakdown of law and order is an ill-wind that won’t blow any good.

    He said: “The entire issue calls for concerns. As a former legislator, I am quite aware of the rudiment of impeachment process, but far from this, the issue of the news any impeachment will bring to Ekiti’s credibility is uppermost in my mind.

    “How would they perceive Ekiti as a people nationwide? So, I am calling on my colleagues to have a rethink because we are duty bound to contribute to the development of this State.

    “I plead with them to embrace reconciliation and forget about heating up the polity unnecessarily.”

  • Ekiti: APC lawmakers urge Fayose to stop stoking violence

    Ekiti: APC lawmakers urge Fayose to stop stoking violence

    The 19 All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers in Ekiti State House of Assembly have advised Governor Ayodele Fayose to stop stoking violence in the state over his impeachment notice.

    They said instigating crisis is not the way to go in defending the removal notice served him by the Assembly. The lawmakers said resorting to violence against Ekiti people was compounding his problems.

    In a statement by Special Adviser on Media to Speaker ‎Adewale Omirin, Wole Olujobi, the lawmakers said violence would not solve the burden of constitutional breaches that the governor had placed on himself.

    They frowned at the invasion of the Assembly by suspected PDP thugs, wondering why a governor that had questions to answer on legal matters would get himself involved in other illegal matters such as the invasion of the Assembly by thugs to cause public disorder.

    The statement said: “It is shocking that the governor would start any act of illegality bordering on public disorder when he is having a load of illegal acts on his head upon which he is facing removal from office.

    “‎Ekiti people were shocked when news spread that the governor had asked his thugs to invade the Assembly and occupy the place to prevent the lawmakers from performing their legal duties.

    “These PDP members were holding their meeting in their secretariat when instruction reached them that they must relocate to the Assembly premises where thugs were beating passersby and molesting motorists and residents. All these illegal acts ‎cannot save the governor.

    “This is the way he invaded the court with thugs to beat up the judges. They tore court records in the Chief Judge’s office and beat up his secretary. Now is the turn of the House of Assembly. What the governor is doing is a confirmation that he does not believe and cannot tolerate democratic practice. But democracy is what Ekiti people want and so we expect people of conscience and good will to support efforts to allow Ekiti people enjoy democratic governance,” the statement said.

    It advised the governor to defend the allegations against him in the impeachment notice instead of resorting to self-help that offers nothing but unnecessary venting of anger on the peaceful people of Ekiti State.

  • Buhari leads APC’s battle for Lagos, Ekiti, Oyo, others

    Buhari leads APC’s battle for Lagos, Ekiti, Oyo, others

    President-elect for Imo, Rivers, others

    President-elect Muhammadu Buhari has a packed schedule this week. He is leading the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaigns in some “battleground” states to lend his popularity to the push by APC candidates.

    He is scheduled to visit Lagos, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Imo, Nasarawa and Benue states.

    Others on the programme are Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo and Adamawa, a source told The Nation last night.

    Ahead of his campaign trips, which will likely be in town hall format, Gen. Buhari has already called on Nigerians to vote APC candidates all the way.

    The president-elect will be in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Tuesday. Governor Rochas Okorocha, who is seeking reelection on the platform of the APC, in a statement signed by his Media Adviser Sam Onwuemeodo, said Gen. Buhari will be given a “heroic” reception at the Heroes’ Square, where he will address residents.

    The governor, who held a thank-you rally in the state, to appreciate the people for their unalloyed support, noted that Imo people contributed significantly to the resounding victory.

    The governor urged the people to turn out  en masse to receive Gen. Buhari irrespective of their political affiliations, adding that “in the new emerging order, everybody will be carried along and people will not be discriminated against on grounds of their political leaning”.

    The Coalition for a Better Nigeria, in a statement at the weekend, said Gen. Buhari will visit the commercial capital on Wednesday and hold “a town hall meeting titled Change 2015”.

    It will be the 5th national discourse of the Coalition to review Nigeria’s political history and progressives as well as Nigeria’s march to freedom with the 2015 polls.

    Leaders of the party, including National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande and Senator Biyi Durojaiye, will be joined by Governors  Babatunde Fashola (Lagos) and Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) for the meeting at the Airport Hotel in Ikeja, the state capital.

    “We expect some outings, possibly town hall meetings in some critically challening states but nothing has been finalised by way of programming,” spokesman of the APC Presidential Campaign Council Mallam Garba Shehu said yesterday.

    Director of Organisation of  the APC Campaign Council Boss Mustapha said the full campaign programme will be out today.

    Mustapha, who said he was in his home state of Adamawa campaigning for governorship candidate Jubrilla Bindow, said: “You know Gen. Buhari is no longer a candidate but president-elect.

    “His programes are no longer completely in our hands. You know many countries are making contacts with him, among other engagements. By Monday, we will be able to give you a final programme.”

    Elections into the governorship seats will be held in 29 states. Ondo, Edo, Ekiti, Kogi, Osun and Bayelsa states are excluded.

  • Police restore Ekiti speaker’s security

    Police restore Ekiti speaker’s security

    •Fayose kicks as lawmakers insist he must go

    The police have restored  Ekiti State House of Assembly Speaker Adewale Omirin’s security team.

    Omirin, who leads the 19 All Progressives Congress (APC) majority lawmakers, lost his security backing after seven Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers claimed to have removed him from office.

    The restoration of his security  on the orders of Inspector-General of Police Suleiman Abba,  follows the restoration of the Department of State Security (DSS) personnel attached to him also at the weekend, a source close to the Speaker told our correspondent.

    The Omirin-led lawmakers, who returned from ‘exile’ last week will likely hold a plenary at the  House of Assembly complex tomorrow, based on  last Thursday’s adjournment.

    Thepolice have stepped up security in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, and other parts of the state following moves to remove Governor Ayo Fayose from office.

    Nineteen members of the House of Assembly who belong to the All Progressives Congress (APC) have signed a notice of impeachment, which they sent to Fayose and his deputy, Kolapo Olusola.

    The lawmakers alleged that Fayose committed eight impeachable offences since returning to power last October.

    But the governor described the attempt to sack him as the “joke of the century”, saying the lawmakers were attempting to test the people’s will.

    The police are not taking chances as the plot to impeach Fayose has heightened tension in a week the people will go to the polls to elect members of the House of Assembly.

    Commissioner of Police Taiwo Lakanu yesterday said his command was up to the task in ensuring that there is no breakdown of law and order.

    Lakanu said the command had put in place a 24-hour security surveillance around the House of Assembly complex and other flash points.

    Said the police chief: “I have emplaced security. Personnel have been placed on alert while high visibility patrol is being conducted around Ado-Ekiti.

    “We know the tension generated must have caused some apprehension, but we are being proactive because the security of lives and property and general peace of the people is our topmost priority.

    “We are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the safety of our citizens

    and for everybody to go about their normal business without fear or harassment.”

    The APC Youth Wing has hailed the impeachment move.

    Youth Leader Femi Ogundare described the lawmakers’ action as “timely and courageous to save Ekiti from the grip of one-man dictator who has violated the Constitution he swore to defend”.

    Ogundare said  Ekiti people were tired of what he called the unending rape of the Constitution going on under Fayose’s watch, adding that the emerging new Nigeria would not tolerate the impunity and lawlessness being witnessed in the state.

    “No single individual can be bigger than Ekiti. A governor is on the executive seat by the grace of the mandate of the people and anytime he carries out any act that violates the Constitution, the House of Assembly is there to perform their functions.

    “The people of the state have witnessed unprecedented infractions on the rule of law, etiquette of public office standard of governance and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “The emerging new Nigeria won’t tolerate the serial illegalities being witnessed in Ekiti State and something urgent must be done to halt the slide into anarchy in the Land of Honour.

    “Nobody is above the law and the law must take its course to deal with any act that violates the Constitution,” Ogundare said.