Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has declared that any attempt to impeach him by the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers would amount to violation of a valid court order.
Speaking with reporters at the Government House on Monday following reports that the lawmakers were on their way to hold a sitting at the House of Assembly complex, Fayose warned them against setting the state ablaze.
The governor said he doesn’t want the blame of the consequences of the “invasion” to be laid at his doorstep.
Brandishing copies of the court order which ruled that parties in the Assembly leadership suit should maintain status quo ante bellum, Fayose advised the APC lawmakers to respect the order.
The suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/361/2015 was filed by factional speaker Dele Olugbemi and six other Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers, while the defendants are the Inspector General of Police, 19 APC lawmakers, Clerk of the House and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He also showed reporters copies of cheques to substantiate his claim that the lawmakers were paid their entitlements.
Arguing that elections are over, Fayose said the plot to impeach him from office with barely five days to the end of the tenure of the lawmakers portend grave dangers for the state.
He accused the APC lawmakers of dropping the name of President Muhammadu Buhari in their bid to remove him from office, saying he still enjoys the support of Ekiti people who elected him.
Fayose said: “They are coming to town claiming that they are removing the governor. This court order says that status quo ante bellum as at 23rd of April be maintained pending the determination of the Motion on Notice.
“At the time of the order, Omirin was not the Speaker in the face of the law. The court warns that no action should be taken until the case is determined.”
Meanwhile, more riot policemen have been drafted to the state to prevent the breakdown of law and order.
Suspected thugs have been mobilized to the vicinity of the Assembly complex where they are waiting’for the lawmakers.
A visit to some parts of the city including the House of Assembly area and adjoining streets by our reporter showed the thugs milling around, standing in groups in some locations.
Although the thugs were not allowed near the House of Assembly complex by armed policemen keeping vigil in the area, the hoodlums were observing events from safe distance.
Many police vehicles including pick-up vans and Armoured Personnel Carrier were stationed around the Assembly complex.
Riot policemen deployed to the area were conducting stop-and-and-search operation and barricaded some portions of NTA Road, State Secretariat Road and the road leading to the Judges’ Quarters.
The thugs laying siege in the vicinity of the Assembly complex were later dislodged by riot policemen.
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) in Ekiti State has warned Governor Ayo Fayose against inaugurating lawmakers-elect before the expiration of the tenure of the members of the House of Assembly.
The Ekiti CNPP, in a statement yesterday by its Director of Publicity, Ayo Adelabu, described such action as unlawful, unconstitutional and undemocratic.
The warning followed a public service announcement on state media by the Clerk of the Assembly, Tola Esan, directing the lawmakers to remove their personal effects from the complex to pave way for “renovation”.
The opposition said it has uncovered an alleged plan to inaugurate the lawmakers-elect on June 1, four days before the tenure of the lawmakers is expected to expire.
The CNPP described the alleged move as a rape of the constitution, warning Fayose to avoid committing an impeachable offence.
The group praised the governor for the peace meeting held with principal officers of the Assembly in Akure.
The CNPP advised Governor Fayose to respect the spirit and letters of agreement reached at the meeting.
Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose yesterday held a closed door meeting with the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Dr Adewale Omirin and four All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers.
The meeting was held at the Sun View Hotel, Alagbaka, Akure, the Ondo State capital.
It lasted for several hours with members of the State Executive Council in attendance.
Fayose and Omirin, however, refused to answer questions from anxious reporters at the end of the meeting.
They insisted that “we are not going to answer questions, but only make statement.”
The governor asked if Omirin was willing to answer questions from reporters, but the speaker said “no sir, we will just make a statement.”
Fayose said: “We have met in the interest of our dear state, Ekiti, which is bigger than the interest of any individual or party.
“We are here for peace to reign in our state.
“We are here to find solutions to the problem in Ekiti State. The meeting was between the executive and the legislature and we had deliberated on nothing but the interest of Ekiti.”
Omirin said: “The governor has spoken and he has spoken very well.”
The meeting, which was said to be a continuation of the peace move in the state, however, suggested that the APC lawmakers might have reconciled with Fayose.
A statement by Omirin’s Special Adviser on Media, Wole Olujobi, said the five lawmakers insisted on their demand for a return to the status quo as at November 11, 2014.
“That means restoring all the principal officers to their positions and all aides of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, including those of other principal officers.”
He added: “The lawmakers made it clear they were ready to return to their jobs and the governor should provide the atmosphere for that possibility.
“They asked the governor to clear the Assembly of thugs and create conditions that would make them do their jobs without any security threats.
“They insisted that restoring the security aides of the principal officers and opening the Assembly for resumption of their legal duties should be the starting point for the restoration of peace.
“We want to make it clear that the resolution of the crisis in the House of Assembly lies with the governor in acceding to our request,” the statement said.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has challenged Governor Ayo Fayose to explain how hoodlums defied his dusk-to-dawn curfew to raze the Oja-Oba Market in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
The party said it was baffling how hoodlums could evade security check-points in Ado-Ekiti to burn down the state’s largest market.
APC’s Publicity Secretary Taiwo Olatubosun said in a statement that the puzzle must be resolved, following insinuations that the arson was government-sponsored.
“We want to know how the market and the surrounding area could be attacked without security agents lifting a finger.
“More shocking is the scale of damage done to the market, which suggests that the operation was not a lone effort as it was carried out in a hurry.
“Also suspicious is the fact that streetlights on major roads leading to the market, went off as early as 8pm that night.
“We have noticed that whenever streetlights go off early like that, an untoward event would follow just as it happened when our secretariat at Ajilosun was attacked.
“The inability of the Fayose administration to service the streetlights on major roads in the capital is a deliberate ploy to create an atmosphere for government sponsored hoodlums to operate.”
Olatunbosun added that the party was vindicated by the alarm it raised earlier that thugs were being lodged in the Government House.
He explained that linking the Ado-Ekiti jail break escapees with the kidnappings was a confirmation of the party’s earlier claim that the government was complicit in the jail break.
The APC sympathises with the Hausa community and we also commiserate with the hapless traders and other victims.
“We commend former Governor Kayode Fayemi for visiting the burnt market, commiserating with the monarch and the victims.”
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, the governor said his concern was how to provide good governance.
Fayose said: “We are not prepared to respond to every senseless outburst.
“We are much concerned with providing good governance to Ekiti people. This is our focus.
“How can we be responding to utterances of idle minds.
“Let them go and assist their colleagues in other states.”
Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose yesterday lifted the dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on Ado-Ekiti on May 22, following a civil disturbance.
The governor, in a state broadcast, described the crisis between the Hausa and commercial drivers in Ado-Ekiti as unfortunate.
He urged residents to be law abiding and conduct their activities in a manner that would not cause further breakdown of law and order.
Fayose said the government lifted the curfew after security agents had restored peace in the state.
Fayose said the government had placed N2 million ransom on anybody that could provide information which could facilitate the arrest of the kidnappers, who abducted 11 people.
He said kidnapping was strange to the state, warning that the government would fight it.
SIR: It is indeed disgraceful and disheartening to witness the lingering political turmoil that has pervaded Ekiti State for some time now. Unfortunately, it is nowhere near abating and instead it is dangerously degenerating into an apocalypse.
The Ekiti people are nationally and international known for their forthrightness, doggedness, principles, deep-rooted in cultural values, high level of intelligence and high education achievements. These have fetched them acronyms such as the ‘Fountain of Knowledge’ and lately the State of Honour and not the prevailing distasteful, dishonoured and damaging appellation of the state of ‘Stomach Infrastructure’.
Ekiti people should therefore be worried about the insalubrious happenings in our dear state today. Do all these sterling attributes still add up in reality? My candid answer would be a firm NO and the quicker we all realise this, the best for us so that the lost glory of the state could be quickly restored. The political brouhaha orchestrated by supposedly political leaders in the name of politics will neither do the political leaders, the state nor the people any good.
Since politics, democracy and governance is centred on the governed i.e. the people, can we now in all honesty say that the deadly politics which has reduced governance to zero level in Ekitis state is for the interest of the people?
During the campaign prior to the election, Governor Ayodele Fayose admitted that mistakes were made during his first tenure and said he had learnt. He professed to being a changed and matured person. Sadly, not long after being declared winner and even before his inauguration, he returned to the old ways. Impunity, political intolerance and browbeat of constitution in display. A grave assault on the judiciary where a state high court judge was beaten up, court staff openly assaulted and vital documents carted ways during the despicable act.
After his swearing-in, instead of creating the best atmosphere to work with the state legislators, Fayose resorted to creating disaffection among the lawmakers. He prevented the 19 APC members from performing their constitutional duties and supported the seven PDP members to stage a kangaroo impeachment against the bona fide Speaker. That marked the beginning of the crisis that has brought the Ekiti State to this awful situation.
With all these happenings, it is bewildering that our respectable traditional rulers and the leaders of thought have kept an undignified silence; some are even partisan. These respectable leaders have shown lack of concern when they should rise up to their natural and moral responsibilities to find amicable solutions to the problems before it degenerated to this point. No doubt, their timely intervention would have probably saved us from this unpalatable siltation we are in now. They abdicated their social responsibilities and before their own eyes, the reputation of Ekiti State is being thrown to the mud, the state is engulfed in crisis the end of which nobody can predict.
Enough of keeping aloof, enough of sitting on the fence it’s time to do something.
Every character involved in getting Ekiti State to this abysmal mess and those by the virtue of their positions who ought to act one way or the other to save the situation but failed to do so should know that posterity will judge them accordingly. Those who train thugs and empower them with arms to cause mayhem, destroy and to kill their brothers and sisters in the name of politics should know that a day of reckoning is in the offing; for what goes around comes around. These youths, sooner or later, will turn the guns against the suppliers and they shall be the greatest victims of their own evil deeds.
Ayo Arise was a PDP Senator in the 6th Assembly from 2007 – 2011. The legislator from Ekiti State was also the chairman of the influential Senate Committee on Privatization during the Obasanjo administration. In this interview with Femi Odere at his Gwarimpa office in Abuja, the senator expressed his views on Nigeria’s political situation, the never ending political war of attrition in Ekiti and his own travails with the current Chief of State, among others. Excerpts:
One would have thought that you would have been given the right of first refusal as an experienced legislator who made his intentions known to go back to the Senate. But you were denied your senatorial district’s ticket. What happened?
What happened can be laid squarely on the doorsteps of Governor Ayo Fayose. He’s such a man who does not like anybody with opinions contrary to his. He does not want anybody to share the limelight with him. So, he had to pack the National Assembly with people who cannot call their souls their own. The leadership of the party spoke to me to support him because everybody knew that Fayose was a bad product. He was governor from 2003 and he left nobody in doubt as to his capabilities for violence and the fact that he does not really have respect for law and order. We tried to let him know that things have to change for the good of Ekiti people. As soon as he was sworn-in, he called a meeting and wrote the list of the people that would contest for the respective offices in the state and National Assemblies. He named the 26 people for the House of Assembly. He also named about four of the six House of Representatives contestants that same day. He later completed the list of the remaining six. It was at that point that I took him on that his decision was not good for democracy. People had already obtained forms and you’re now saying that these are the people going into the Assemblies regardless? This was the point he started to fight me. I really wasn’t seriously disturbed by not getting the ticket because I have been working on my business. I believe that there are ways that people can become useful to society outside of public service.
If the leadership of the PDP, as you said, believed that Fayose was a bad product, why then did they present him as the party’s governorship candidate?
Well, it’s not the leadership of the party that believed he was a bad product but those of us from Ekiti. The leadership of the party was sold a dummy that they needed a violent person or someone that has this perception of action and brigandage to wrestle power from an incumbent government. It’s not as if they knew him but they knew him by his bad reputation. They thought they needed somebody like that, whereas, any of the other candidates would have won the election because there were fundamental disagreements with the government by the teachers and civil servants. President Jonathan wanted Ekiti to be a PDP-controlled state and he delivered. But the moment he lost the presidential election, my interest in PDP came to an end. I stayed in the party, tolerating Ayo Fayose because of President Jonathan, whom I would say personally have been a good person to me. He’s a good friend. I have no business staying in PDP as long as Fayose remains in the party. We have nothing in common. Our characters are very different. Our pedigrees are not the same.
Was there a point that the leadership tried to reconcile you and the governor for the sake of the party in the state?
Let me say that as soon as Fayose won that governorship election, he became a Lord and law unto himself. Nobody, including the chairman of the party, and I even dare say, including the president, could ask him to be of good character to members of the party. I know for sure that the President spoke to him to give me the ticket but he went to tell him all kinds of things about me. Of course, the president was worried about his own election and if the governor that would make it happen for him says don’t worry, this man who is always quarrelling could not deliver the votes for you and all that, what could he have done? I was there when the president called that he should assist me with the ticket. Nobody could talk to him, nobody. You know him, if he wants something from you, he can prostrate flat on the floor until you ask him to get up. The likes of Fayose do not deserve to govern anybody. By the special grace of God, Ekiti people will have the governor they deserve sometimes in the near future.
You said there’s no way you will remain in PDP as long as Fayose is also in the party, is it then safe to say that the APC is an option for you?
Of course, I was home a day before the Assembly election to tell my supporters that I had moved to APC. It was just that the period was too short, but they still saw the effect. While PDP used to win with more than 90 percent in my constituencies, their winning margins dropped to less than 60 percent. So, they saw the effect. I believe that by the next election, hopefully, I would have settled one or two things and my people would become APC again. I got them into PDP in the first place. Remember that I was in AD. It was after the primary that I left at the time. But I can assure you that most of us, if not all, who moved to PDP at the time would soon return to APC not because we like changing parties but because the country requires change. We went into AD to drive Fayose out in 2004/2005 or thereabout. After junketing from one party to another, he somehow wangled his way again to become governor. I am now in the APC. Some people may have joined the party because of one position or the other. I was in PDP for four years after my term at the Senate and I was not even made a Board member or one of those people that conducted primaries. I was not even a member of the campaign committee. But since I have promised to work for President Jonathan, I had to fulfill the promise I made to him.
President Jonathan never really had enough traction, politically, in the South-West when it comes to reckoning with him on a larger scale. Why?
Well, when you look at politics and the practical practice of it, he dealt with those people that he either knew or were recommended to him. The PDP is strong in some places in the South-West but the governors are mostly from APC like you have in Osun, Oyo, Ogun and Lagos. Ordinarily, if a governor does well, he would most likely win his state because the power of incumbency is there. The people he has appointed to various offices, like commissioners and board members, are supposed to go to their respective constituencies to work for the governor in order to retain their jobs. You also have those other people that the governor may have touched their lives by way of employments and the like. But in the case of the Jonathan government, there’s this problem that for the first time, Yorubas had no say and relevance whatsoever in his government. There’s no Yoruba in the first fifteen positions of his government. When he tried to correct some things, he brought somebody in as his Chief of Staff who is by and large not a politician. That affected the party in the South-West. Even at that, the position was not one of the statutory positions. So, campaigning in the South-West became a very difficult one for him. We had to zero in on our local environments of our states. We’re lucky that Jonathan could point to the Federal University as what he did for Ekiti people. We used that to campaign for support for him but that was not the same in other places. The Lagos – Ibadan expressway started a bit too late as people already made up their minds that the PDP was not going to do anything for the South-West. There were so many areas that things could have been better handled but, again, I look at it that governance is not a tea party. That’s why I am praying that Gen. Buhari and APC would succeed because the challenges are enormous.
If you’re asked to predict how the Buhari government is going to turn out, what will be your prediction?
From the little I have seen so far, I think the Buhari government would do well. If you look at the AIT saga, the way the president-elect and the party handled the situation gives me confidence that the Buhari government would be a responsive one. A mistake was made by some aides and the man came out to set the record straight. That’s leadership. I would imagine that as he begins to bring his ministers on board, they would be very credible people.
Do you believe in the efforts of the 19 APC lawmakers to impeach Fayose?
Oh, very certainly. He has committed an offence against the constitution. His action is actually tantamount to treason. So, he should be impeached and I have no qualms about that. Those people covering him would also be made to face the consequences if they’re not careful. Can you imagine if a crowd had gathered and occupied the Government House that the governor would not be allowed to go out? For how many days can they do that? Is it possible? Would the police commissioner in the state not lose his job? The way the Government House is protected is the same way the legislative house must be protected as well as the judiciary. It is his responsibility. If he does not understand that and believes that by just winning an election he can come and set his own rules outside of the constitution, then we have a big problem on our hands. If such things are allowed to go unchallenged, the president of the country can decide to close down the National Assembly and suspend all lawmaking activities for the next one year. What would happen? You never can tell the extent which somebody can take this drunkenness of power as being demonstrated by Ayo Fayose. He has to be impeached. Because if he gets away with this impunity, then I am afraid, what would someone like me go to Ekiti for? If Ayo Fayose says I should be shot, would I take it beyond him that he would not do that? What Fayose did would never happen in any society that has law and order? If Fayose does not allow those 19 lawmakers to sit, he’s just postponing the evil day. When he leaves that office, which I know that sooner or later he would, he will go to prison because he has a budget passed by seven lawmakers that did not form a quorum. He has driven 19 House of Assembly members out, passed the budget and has started spending money. He also appointed commissioners with an illegal House. That leaves a lot to be desired.
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has slammed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Ado Ekiti, the state capital, to prevent the spread of violence that erupted on Wednesday.
The indefinite curfew began on Thursday from 6.00pm and last till 6.00am each day until normalcy returns to the city.
The action was a response to the clash that occurred between drivers’ union members, Hausa traders and butchers on Wednesday.
Fayose, who gave the order while addressing members of the Hausa Community in Atikankan area of the city, directed security agencies to arrest anybody who flouts the curfew.
The governor, who appealed to the restive Hausa Community for calm, vowed that perpetrators of the violence would be fished out and made to face the full wrath of the law.
He warned those still carrying arms to submit them to the police, saying anybody caught with weapons would be severely dealt with.
Fayose said: “I want to plead with you to submit whatever lethal weapon you have in your possession to the police. And if you refuse to do this, whether you are Yoruba or Hausa, the police will arrest you.
“Nigeria belongs to all of us and for the sake of our country, I plead with you to allow peace to reign.”
According to the governor, the violence would be thoroughly investigated and those found to be connected with the wanton destruction would be made to face the full weight of the law.
The head of the Hausa Community, Adamu Imam, called on the government to compensate them for the massive loss suffered during the mayhem.
Imam told the governor that names of the perpetrators of the violent attack had been compiled and would be made available to the government and security agencies for necessary actions.
The state’s police command has disclosed that the number of those injured in the violence has risen to 24.
The command’s spokesman, Alberto Adeyemi, refuted the claim of eyewitnesses that three persons died in the incident.
Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose described the resignation as a good development for the turbulent party.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, Fayose, who has been calling for Mu’azu’s removal, said: “We see it as a welcome development. When a political party loses an election, the moral thing for the leadership of that party is to quit office.
Muazu and others ought not to have waited for the call for their resignation before doing the right thing. We hope others would follow his step. This will allow re-engineering of the party to make it a virile opposition party.”
Former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP Chief Olabode George described Muazu’s resignation as “the best thing to have happened to us”.
George, a member of PDP’s National Caucus, said the resignation has proved that “PDP is made up of people with integrity”.
He also described the setting aside of zoning by the All Progressives Congress (APC) for national offices such as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives as “dangerous”.
“It is in our party’s interest. It is the best thing to have happened to us. It shows that PDP has a strong norm and culture and it will allow us reposition our party.
“We are happier than before because PDP will become stronger to face the challenges ahead. As from May 29, we will become the opposition party at the national level. We need to restrategise.
“He (Mu’azu) has done the honourable thing to do and that is why PDP is different from other parties. Mu’azu is a foundation member of the party, a founding governor. He has followed the path of honour like President Goodluck Jonathan. I wish him the best of luck”.
On zoning, he said: “APC is making a big mistake which is a very dangerous concept for the polity. That means we are back in 1960. How can you say you are setting aside zoning? It is dangerous. I just pray that General Muhammadu Buhari will rise above tribal sentiment to manage everybody”
Director of Media of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode said Mu’azu did the honourable thing by turning in his resignation.
He called on other members of the NWC to take a cue from the ex party chair by resigning their positions without delay.
According to him, the party would not get out of its festering crisis with the remaining NWC members on board. “They should respect the wish of the majority of party members and resign because they have failed”, he stated.
The controversy surrounding the demolition of an old building belonging to the Omotoso family in Afao-Ekiti, the hometown of Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, has refused to die. While the family is accusing the governor of being responsible for the demolition, the community has absolved him of any wrongdoing. Odunayo Ogunmola reports.
The building was a cynosure of all eyes when it was built. Apart from standing at a strategic location in the community, it was a beauty to behold because it was a built at a time when one-storey or two-storey buildings were not common.
The house apart from serving as a place of abode was also a place of refuge, a place of pride and a monument of identity.
Decades after, modernity set in and children sired in the home grew up and left for other cities within and outside the country for the proverbial greener pasture while the aged died one after the other.
Sooner than later, the once beautiful one-storey building became old, derelict and decrepit but still housed some artifacts and some personal effects.
The community felt that the house had to be demolished in public interest expressing fear that the house could collapse anytime endangering the lives of pupils of two primary schools nearby.Apart from this, the community said the house has become a hideout for criminals who hide there to perpetrate their nefarious activities.
May 2, 2015 was the day of decision. Bulldozers roared to the site of the building and pulled down the house in a matter of minutes reducing it to rubbles.
•Omotoso
The Omotoso family cried foul claiming that it was not carried along before the house was demolished.
The community maintained that the family was carried along and that the demolition was an agreement reached by sons and daughters of Afao Ekiti, a community located in Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
A web of politics has been woven around the Afao demolition saga as the spokesman of the Omotoso family alleged that the pulling down of the house was politically-motivated.
Afao is the hometown of the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Peter Ayodele Fayose.
The Afao demolition saga has created two warring camps and both camps are baring their fangs ready to throw everything in their arsenal to win what promises to be a big battle ahead.
On one side is the governor, the traditional institution of the community and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members and sympathisers and the Omotoso family and All Progressives Congress (APC) members and sympathisers on the other hand.
Pastor David Oluwafemi Omotoso, the eldest son of the family who owned the building is the APC Secretary in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State and he said the family is suffering for their membership of the opposition party.
Contrary to the claim of the town union, Omotoso said no member of the family was contacted before the building was demolished.
He explained that since the demolished building had become old, a new building was undergoing construction at the back which he was constructing to serve as new abode for family members anytime they come to their hometown.
Omotoso is enraged that the new house under construction was not spearedby the rampaging bulldozers as it was also pulled down.
This, according to him, is part of the conspiracy to victimize the family because of their membership of the APC.
He explained that the operation which he claimed was carried out in the night further raised suspicion as to the intention of those who pulled it down.
Omotoso said the battle would be fought to a logical conclusion because some of the family’s ancestors were buried within the precincts of the demolished building.
The excavation of the tombs of the forbears, Omotoso went further, was a clear evidence that the government of the state in collaboration with the community has a hidden agenda to take over the land and erase the family from Afao history.
•Fayose
But the Afao Community has risen in stout defence of its illustrious son, Governor Fayose exonerating him of complicity in the demolition of the structure.
Acting under the aegis of Afao Development Council (ADC), the community said the demolition of the building became necessary as it has constituted a threat to pupils of a nearby primary school and has become a hideout for criminal elements.
Led by the traditional ruler, the Alafao, Oba Joseph Ademilua, they advised Omotoso not to politicise the demolition maintaining that Fayose has no hand in it as official application was made to appropriate government agencies before the action was carried out.
Apparently disturbed by the tension generated by the demolition saga, the ADC led by its President, Chief Alex Akintunde and Secretary, Elder Bisi Agunbiade, condemned Omotoso for dragging the governor into the matter and politicising a community development effort.
Addressing a news conference at the Alafao’s Palace, ADC Public Relations Officer, Mr. Tope Anjorin, stressed that the community has no intention to take away the land from the Omotoso family as the family is free to erect any structure it desires on the land.
Anjorin said it was uncharitable for Omotoso to claim that the one-storey building was demolished because he holds political beliefs that run contrary to that of the governor.
The town union spokesman claimed that the patriarch of the family had other children who are members of the PDP.
While explaining that the building was demolished in public interest and agreement of natives of the town, Anjorin disclosed that representations were made to Omotoso and other siblings.
Anjorin said: “The late owner of the building first daughter, Mrs Florence Aduloju was the Women Leader of the PDP for two consecutive terms in Afao Ekiti while his son, Pastor Sunday Olowoyo is the present Caretaker Chairman of Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government under Fayose.
“Can these people allowed their family to be victimized by the same party they belong to?”, he asked.
“We had tried to reach out to the family on the need to demolish the building, but Mr Omotoso, being one of the sons made the arrangement difficult.
“We want to make it abundantly clear that Fayose has nothing to do with this demolition. They are all out to tarnish his good image.”
According to Anjorin, the demolition was done based on the request of the town in a letter addressed to the Governor and dated February 16, 2015.
Anjorin explained that the community stated the status of the building and the danger it posed to the pupils of St. David’s Nursery and Primary School and SUBEB Model Nursery and Primary School located within the vicinity of the palace.
The letter signed by ADC President, Chief Alex Akintunde and Secretary, Elder Bisi Agunbiade , requested the government to pull down the structure because efforts to reach out to the children of the late owner to repair the house had proved abortive, since a rainstorm blew off a part of the house in 2005.
He also clarified that what the town had done was mere demolition to avert danger and not outright seizure of the land as being claimed by Omotoso in his publication.
However, more intrigues were added to the saga when Mrs. Aduloju denied Anjorin’s claim that she is the Women Leader of the PDP in Afao Ward.
In a statement refuting the ADC image maker’s claim, Mrs Aduloju revealed that she had ceased being a member of the PDP since 2004.
She said: “My attention has been drawn to the allegation by one Mr. Tope Anjorin, P.R.O. of Afao Development Council (ADC) on Premium Times that I am the Women Leader of the PDP in Afao Ward.
“To set the record straight, I had left the Afao PDP since 2003/2004 hence the insinuation that I am a PDP member is not true.
“Further more, the Interim Chairman of Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government, Mr. Sunday Olowoyo, is not a member of the Omotoso family and hence cannot take any decision on behalf of the family.
“This is for the information of the general public”.
But Fayose himself did not keep quiet in the demolition saga saying it was wrong for anybody to insinuate that he ordered the demolition of the building.
According to the governor, the demolition of the building was an “internal affair” of the Afao Community and has nothing to do with him.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose said the decision to pull down the building was that of the community’s traditional cabinet, the Alafao-in-Council and the town union, Afao Development Council (ADC).
Fayose said: “The attention of Ekiti State Governor, Mr Peter Ayodele Fayose has been drawn to allegations made by one, David Oluwafemi Omotoso that the governor was responsible for the demolition of his family house at Afao Ekiti.
“Except for some people who will tend to believe the story, we decided to put the record straight.
“It is true that Governor Fayose built the Alafao Palace some years ago on the land provided by the Afao Development Council.
“However, the demolition of the said building is purely an internal affair of Afao Community having nothing to do with Governor Fayose.
“It is totally wrong for Mr David Omotoso to assume that Gov Fayose had ordered for demolition of their family house.
“It is the Alafao in Council and the Afao Development Council which felt that the 100 year old dilapidated roofless structure of Omotoso family was posing danger to the pupils of nearby primary schools who hibernated under the building.
“The community also claimed that the building has become a haven to criminals who often hide there to perpetrate crime.
“What has that got to do with Fayose? Is it because Fayose is from Afao or because he built the palace?
“Nobody in this country can claim not to know the antecedents of All Progressive? Congress (APC) as a party which specialises in fabricating lies and to malign people using their propaganda machinery.
“When the party has failed in all directions to bring the government down through their much advertised impeachment project, it is now intensifying campaign of calumny against the person of Governor Fayose.
“Incidentally, as explained by the Afao Development Council, the step taken to pull down the building is about safety and security which has no political coloration. Three PDP leaders are members of that family.”
However, the battle may be heading for the court of law according to information from the Omotoso family.
The family has concluded arrangement to drag the community’s traditional ruler, the Alafao to court for demolishing the house without the family’s consent and for going ahead to pull down a house under construction at the back of the old building.
The family said the destruction of the building under construction alongside the ancient family building smacked of malice adding that the claim of pulling down the building in public interest no longer holds any water.
Briefing reporters last Thursday in Ado Ekiti on the demolition saga, the family’s eldest son, Pastor Omotoso, reiterated his accusation that Fayose masterminded the demolition to victimize family members for their membership of the APC.
Omotoso insisted that the demolition of an uncompleted building he was constructing at the back of the old building was an evidence that the action was politically-motivated.
He further explained that not less than six corpses were excavated by the demolition squad saying the initial intention was to take over the land from them but was dropped following the outcry and media hype the matter generated.
Omotoso argued that the claim of the Alafao, his chiefs and town union that Fayose was not involved was an aftert thought recalling that the governor had during the Afao Day Celebration held on December 13, 2014 declared his intention to demolish the house on grounds that it was blocking the palace.
The Lagos APC stalwart maintained that the family was not consulted before the house was pulled down wondering why the new building being constructed at the back of the demolished house was also reduced to rubble.
He added that the suspicion was further heightened by the fact that the evacuation of the tombs of the family’s forbears was done at night after the demolition saying the action was an attempt to wipe out the Omotosos from the memory of the Afao people.
The cleric-turned politician said the aggrieved family is heading for the court of law to sue the Oba and seek compensation for the damage done to their artifacts and other valuables which wouldn’t have been destroyed if they had been carried along.
He said: “This house was built in 1953 but it was blown off by wind about two years ago. The administration of ex-Governor Kayode Fayemi intervened and assisted the family with a sum of N10,000 to reroof the building, which we did.
“ It was when we realized that the house was weak that we decided to build a new one behind it. The land belonged to our forebears and about six tombs and other artifacts were inside which they destroyed in the cause of demolishing it.
“ But it was disheartening that we were not given any notice before carrying out the act . There were more dilapidated houses in Afao which they did not demolish.
“It was during the first term of Governor Fayose that they encroached on our land and built the new palace. Even the fencing encroached on it, but we took that for peace to reign.
“The Governor had earlier made pronouncement during the 2014 Afao Day that Omotoso family should not do anything on that land and he said we should come and see him. He even said that our family house must give way for the palace .
“I came on December 27, 2014 to see him and I was told he travelled out of the country. I then wrote a letter and sent to him by one Tope Anjorin, but there was no reply . And I did not receive any correspondence from the governor acknowledging my letter .
“Only to be called on the 2nd May, 2015 that my father’s house had
been demolished and that nothing is standing again on that land, including even the new one that we are erecting. This is totally mischievous and unacceptable.
“We are warning them not to build anything on that land because it belongs to us. The claim that the place posed danger to the pupils is to cover up their mischief.
“All they wanted to do was to erase our family’s name in Afao Ekiti. We are going to challenge this injustice in Court.”
Another member of the Omotoso family, Mrs. Yemi Oluwayose, expressed anger that their father’s belongings were demolished with the building.
She said: “My father’s properties were still in that house, we wanted to construct a new house with the intention of moving the properties.
“Lost in the demolition are artifacts, academic gowns and other personal effects. Definitely, we would seek legal redress.
As the controversy rages, there are many questions demanding answers. If the litigation starts when will it end? Won’t this battle turn brothers against brothers and sisters against sisters? Can out-of-court settlement be struck before legal fireworks begin?
Was it right to have pulled down a new building under construction if the dilapidated one was pulled down in public interest? On whose interest was the new building pulled down. Will the community settle with an estranged family as the matter is being taken to court.
Will Governor Fayose use his exalted office to facilitate reconciliation of the community leaders and the Omotoso family? Will Afao’s image remain the same if court battle starts and it continues to drag? Interesting days await both parties.
