The alleged attack of former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose at the wedding of Adetutu, the daughter of Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe, has sparked a quarrel in the political circles.
Fayose was booed and called unprintable names by some individuals at the wedding on Saturday at Cathedral Church of Emmanuel, Okesa, Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
The former governor was ferried out of the church when the booing continued and tension rose.
Another group outside the church rained abuses on him and pelted his vehicle with stones as he hurriedly left the premises.
The Fayose camp alleged that the “humiliation” was organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration to embarrass the former governor.
But the state government said it was nemesis that caught up with Fayose, who it advised not drag its name into his plight.
Fayose’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, accused Governor Kayode Fayemi of sponsoring people he called “miscreants” to humiliate Fayose in the church.
The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Public Communication, Segun Dipe, absolved Fayemi and APC of complicity in the humiliation of Fayose.
He said the act was carried out by PDP members offended by the ex-governor.
Olayinka said: “Rather than send less than 15 miscreants to the house of God to boo Fayose, Fayemi should either face the reality of his rejection by the people or engage in actions that will make the people to love him.
“Even if the governor and his party of thugs do not regard the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, shouldn’t they have at least accorded the dignitaries who came from far and near to honour the revered monarch some respect by keeping their miscreants away from the church?
“And rather than achieve their sinister aim, Fayose entered the church amidst loud ovation and this should get Fayemi and his men to begin to ask themselves what they have done wrong, instead of adding more salts to the injury of their rejection by the people.”
He added: “Ekiti people will continue to love Fayose because he served them well and, most importantly, he never distanced himself from them, counselling Fayemi to submit himself to the authority of the people by acting as their servant instead of his present display of power arrogance.”
In his reply to Olayinka’s allegation, Dipe said: “Our findings about the unfortunate fate that befell the former governor is that he was indeed booed but by those he had offended within his own party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who felt bruised and pained about the way he enslaved them within their own party.
“Fayose is the architect of his own misfortune. He will be living in a fool’s paradise to think the people will forget all his sins too quickly.
“He is now being haunted by his past misdeeds. Or, has he forgotten what he did to them in Ado? How he was disrespectful to the Ewi; how he was demolishing ancestral homes; how he seized land and properties and converted them to personal use?
“Fayose, as his own enemy, should not accuse anyone of goading those he offended before they would think of having their pound of flesh on him is to be taking the people for a ride.
“My sincere and brotherly advice to our immediate past governor is to do the needful, by tendering an unreserved apology to all those he offended, and they are legion. It is only then that he would no longer be haunted by ghosts.”
Lagos cleric Primate Elijah Babatunde Ayodele, has revealed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, lost the Ekiti State governorship election due to alleged arrogance and over-confidence of his godfather, Governor Ayo Fayose.
Ayodele, who is the founder and head of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church with headquarters in Oke-Afa, Isolo, Lagos, said he warned Fayose about a year ago of an impending defeat but the governor rebuffed his warning.
The cleric, who hails from Ikere-Ekiti as Olusola revealed that he warned Fayose to change some of his alleged negative attributes which include ingratitude, arrogance and self-deception if he hopes to succeed in installing a successor.
He spoke during a visit to a branch of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church in Ikere-Ekiti where a special service and prayer programme was held.
According to him, it was wrong for Fayose to be claiming to be a prophet by releasing predictions believed to be politically motivated.
He attributed the loss of Olusola to the All Progressives Congress (APC) flag bearer, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, as “nemesis catching up with Fayose.”
He said: “We foresaw what eventually happened in Ekiti State more than a year ago. Ekiti is also my state. I am from this town, Ikere-Ekiti.
“God had asked me to warn Governor Fayose that he has a great deal of work to do to endear the hearts of Ekiti people to himself and also take care of certain human traits of his that could bring about his anointed candidate, Olusola’s defeat.
“Olusola is just a victim of the nemesis that eventually caught up with Fayose because instead of the governor to listen to voice of reason and prophetic utterances we provided for him, he branded us fake prophets but now he has seen it.”
Recall that Ayodele had predicted that Olusola of the PDP, though deserves to be the next governor of Ekiti State may not have it because of certain things Fayose needed to do which would only warm the hearts of Ekiti people towards him but also make his enemies not to triumph over him.
The prophet specifically revealed that the choice of Fayemi and some other contenders in the May 12 primary of the APC would enable the party to clinch victory.
Ayodele had predicted: “On the forthcoming election in Ekiti, PDP will lose. Kayode Fayemi will win if he listens to instructions, one of which is for him to concentrate on winning the hearts of the grassroots, and also watch his utterances that may offend much of Ekiti electorate.
“For Fayose and his party’s candidate, Olusola, Fayose must humble himself and work very hard to please Ekiti people, otherwise he would make his candidate lose.
“The forthcoming election in Ekiti State will be tough. It is only God that can make Fayose and his candidate to win that election. So, Fayemi should work hard, especially more with the grassroots and he will win if he does what I told him. But if he’s doing elitist politics, he will not win.”
Former Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Chief Adebisi Omoyeni, has been adopted as the consensus candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the July 14 governorship poll.
Omoyeni, was the deputy governor to Governor Ayo Fayose in his first term, where he served only for three months before resigning to assume the position of Group Managing Director of Wema Bank Plc.
He was formerly in the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) before moving to SDP, with his supporters citing cases of alleged manipulation of delegates’ list in favour of Fayose’s deputy, Prof. Kolapo Olusola.
Speaking on behalf of the party leaders in Ado Ekiti on Friday, the pioneer chairman of SDP in the state, Engr. Ayo Adekola, said they decided to pick him based on his antecedents and for the fact that he was from the south senatorial district.
Adekola, who was the SDP governorship candidate in 2014, added that it had always been the wish of the founding fathers of the party in the state that the south produced the governor even before now.
He said they decided to make Omoyeni the governorship candidate because he has the capacity to implement the policies and programmes of the party, adding that “this will also make the April 14 primary a rancour-free process”.
He added: “In 2014, Dr Kola Adeyina from Ikere Ekiti, where Omoyeni hails from was our candidate. But he fell sick and was taken overseas and he used my name as a stop gap. Few days to election, he called me and said I should be made the candidate.”
The print media was awash on Tuesday, September 1, 2015 with reports of Gov. Ayo Fayose’s threat that no private school in Ekiti State will be allowed to commence school activities this Session unless it pays a tax of N150,000 and that anybody who buys one cow to be slaughtered for any ceremony will pay N1,000. It was further reported that the Governor vowed to shut four banks for ‘tax evasion’. Of all these issues, I intend to anatomise the issue of payment of N150,000 by each private school before the school will be allowed to re-open.
For private schools with large population of employees, payment of N150,000 may even be a blessing in disguise, especially if the monthly personal income tax remittance is above the N150,000 mark. The opposite will, however, be the lot of small and medium schools with low staff population. Each of such schools is now being compelled to cough out N150,000 without regard to what the actual remittance should be or ought to be. The implication of the Governor’s Proclamation is that a private school with, for example, 10 members of staff, at salaries varying from N10,000 to N50,000 must pay the same N150,000 in the manner of another school with 30 members of staff with salaries ranging from N15,000 to N80,000.
Flat tax has been defined by Tejutax at page 794 of her book, Tejutax Reference Book, Vol. 1, as a tax applied at the same rate to all levels of income. Flat tax means that everyone has to pay tax at just one and only one rate. In such a system, in place of a complex set of income tax brackets, a State declares a threshold above which all parties pay a fixed rate on all their income.
As at today, the Federal Government of Nigeria and its federating States apply the progressive system of taxation and not the flat tax system. This is why the system is classified as Pay-As-You-Earn (P.A.Y.E.). Paragraph 7 of Part II of the Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution provides that:
In the exercise of its powers to impose any tax or duty on – (a) capital gains, incomes or profits of persons other than companies; and (b) documents or transactions by way of stamp duties the National Assembly may, subject to such conditions as it may prescribe, provide that the collection of any such tax or duty or the administration of the law imposing it shall be carried out by the Government of a State or other authority of a state.
It was pursuant to this provision that the National Assembly made the Personal Income Tax (Amendment) Act, 2011 whose principal Act is the Personal Income Tax Act, Cap. P8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 (otherwise called “PITA”). PITA was actually enacted in 1993 and it is an existing law pursuant to Section 315(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution.
Of equal relevance is Paragraph 8 of Part II of the Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution, which provides that:
Where an Act of the National Assembly provides for the collection of tax or duty on capital gains, incomes or profits or the administration of any law by an authority of a state in accordance with paragraph 7 hereof, it shall regulate the liability of persons to such tax or duty in such manner as to ensure that such tax or duty is not levied on the same person by more than one state.
This provision makes it clear that the Act made by the National Assembly shall regulate the liability of the residents of a state to such tax in such a manner as to ensure that such tax is not levied on the same person by more than one state. This provision is intended to prevent multiplicity of taxes but much more than that.
Item 59, Part 1, Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution, (which contains the Exclusive Legislative List) gives the National Assembly exclusive powers to legislate on taxation of incomes, profits and capital gains except as otherwise prescribed by this Constitution. The purport of these constitutional provisions is that the states are to enforce laws made by the National Assembly in relation to taxation of incomes, profits and capital gains.
A state is required to impose tax or levy with respect to any of the 25 taxes and levies contained in the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act (Amendment Order), 2015.
With respect to these 25 taxes and levies, Fayose’s proclamation is only related to income tax. Yours sincerely has shown that income tax cannot be charged arbitrarily; it can only be charged according to the relevant Act. I know as a fact that there is no law in Ekiti State, which makes it compulsory for each private school to pay N150,000 before resumption in a new session. Even if there is such a law, it will be unconstitutional because Section 1(3) of the 1999 Constitution provides that:
If any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of this constitution, this constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall to the extent of the inconsistency be void.
Taxes and levies cannot be charged by a rule of the thumb or by a Governor’s proclamation. There are guiding principles to taxation, which the State Governors and the Federal Government must imbibe if we want to have an equitable tax system. Let us consider the words of wisdom in the cases below:
“It is the law that the language of a statute imposing a tax, duty or charge must receive a strict construction in the sense that there is no room for any intendment and regard must be had to the clear meaning of the words. If the state claims a tax under a statute it must show that the tax is imposed by clear and unambiguous words, and where the statute is in doubt it must be construed in favour of the subject, however much within the spirit of the law the case might otherwise be, but a fair and reasonable construction must be given to the language used without leaning to one side or the order” statement of law by Lord Atkinson in Ordmond Investment Co. v. Betts [1928] AC 143 at 162, adopted: per Ikpeazu J. in Aderawos Trading Co. Ltd. v. F.B.I.R. [1966] L.L.R. 196 at 200.”
“It is a general principle of fiscal legislation that to be liable to tax the subject must fall clearly within the words of the charge imposing the tax, otherwise he goes free. It is also for the State to establish that the charge prima facie extends to the subject matter sought to be charged: per Lord Halsbury L.C. in Tennant v. Smith (Surveyor of Taxes) [1892] A.C. 150 at 154, HL.”
A good tax system, therefore, should be part of the so-called democracy dividends. Ade Ipaye has outlined the essentials of a good tax system, in his book, Nigerian Tax, Law & Administration: A Critical Review, to include equity, certainty, convenience and administrative efficiency. Certainly, Gov. Fayose’s imposition of a new tax regime specifically for some citizens is not only discriminatory but uncertain.
According to the National Tax Policy, governors are expected to play a similar role to that of the Presidency at state level. They would be responsible for the development of state Tax Policy which shall be complementary to the National Tax Policy. In addition, they are responsible for the enforcement of Federal and State tax laws in the States and carry out general oversight functions on tax and revenue authorities at the State and Local Government level. State Governors would be required to provide guidance and direction to the State Ministries of Finance, the State Boards of Internal Revenue Service and other relevant revenue generating agencies involved in tax administration in the States. They should also ensure adequate funding and autonomy is provided to these agencies in the discharge of their functions.
State Governors, as stakeholders in the Tax System, have roles and responsibilities, among which are: (a) adherence to Constitutional Federalism and the Rule of Law at all times; (b) strict adherence to Constitutional provisions relating to fiscal matters; (c) strict adherence to the provisions to tax legislation in the administration of taxes; (d) commitment to the enforcement of tax laws in a legal Constitutional manner; (e) commitment to the creation and sustainable development of a stable, secure and workable tax system for Nigeria.
The intendment of this piece is, therefore, not to encourage tax evasion or to avoid tax remittance, but to discourage State Governors from making tax laws – whether discriminatory or not – by executive fiat. This is my little contribution to tax law jurisprudence and I hope it will be useful to not only Ekiti people but to Nigerians as a whole.
Thursday was a bad day for many residents of Irewolede Estate in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, as they were forcibly evicted from their homes by the Ayo Fayose administration for alleged failure to complete payment of their mortgages. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports that reprieve came their way on Saturday when the deadline for payment was extended to November.
For many residents of Irewolede Estate that was later renamed Adekunle Fajuyi Estate, Thursday, August 6 was a day they would never forget in a hurry.
It was a day they witnessed the fury of a government that was bent on recovering the proceeds from the mortgage on the houses in the estate.
A combined team of armed policemen, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and officials of the State Housing Corporation stormed the estate to evict owners of houses who were yet to complete payment of their mortgages.
They were armed with guns, padlocks, chains and other gadgets in order to effect the “order from above”.
one of the buldozers tearing down.
Bulldozers were also busy pulling down what government officials referred to as “illegal structures” in the estate.
The operation was already in full swing at 10:00 a.m. when the operatives moved into the houses of the ‘defaulters’, forcing out the occupants and sealing off their residences.
Helpless wives, children and other relations were wailing uncontrollably; unsure of where next they would call their homes.
Government had, two months earlier, served them notice to pay up or be ejected, but raising the money within the short period was a task too taxing for many of them.
While some succeeded “one way or the other” to pay up, most of them, especially those who still had long ways to go to complete their payment, couldn’t meet the deadline.
Apparently learning from a Yoruba axiom which says “a war long declared well ahead of time would not consume a wise cripple”, many of the landlords in the estate who were unable to meet the deadline had since left to avoid the ignominy of being forced out of their homes.
They had left their residences to put up with relations, friends, members of the same faith and other Good Samaritans in other parts of the city.
Others who had nowhere to go to stayed put to face the fury of the “unwanted visitors”.
one of the locked gates
It was a pitiable sight to see landlords and landladies in the estate locked out of their residences for allegedly owing ‘millions’ of Naira and becoming homeless in a matter of minutes.
When reporters visited the estate again at 2:00 p.m., security personnel were seen at the gate, while the staff of the Ekiti State Housing Corporation were screening the landlords and identifying those that defaulted and prevented them from gaining entry into the estate.
A shouting march ensued in some houses as some landlords displayed documents to show that they had fulfilled their payment obligation but wondered how their names got into the defaulters’ list.
One of the residents claimed that his dogs which were barking ferociously at the invaders were shot dead.
The drama-of-the-day took place at the home of the chairman of the estate landlords’ association, Ayo Orebe, whose wife and three-day-old baby were locked inside by men of the task force in a bid to enforce the order.
Governor Fayose had earlier constituted a committee, headed by the Deputy
Governor, Dr Kolapo Olusola, to interface with the landlords, from where a directive was given to each of them to pay the amount authorised by the mortgage agreement on or before August 5, or face mass ejection.
The action was also entangled in the web of political intrigues as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) traded accusations on the eviction.
While the Fayose-led government said the eviction had no political undertone, the APC said it was targeted at opposition figures who served during the Segun Oni and Kayode Fayemi administrations.
Many ex-government officials claimed they have a subsisting repayment agreement which are still ongoing, but wondered how they could be told overnight to complete payment within two months.
While speaking with reporters, residents of the estate lamented the indescribable hardship the sealing order had caused them.
A resident, Bolaji Fasanmi, alleged that government was biased in its mode of operation, stressing that some buildings belonging to the executive of the estate were placed under lock and key while those who owe huge sums of money were left unsealed.
Orebe
Mr. Orebe argued that they have mortgage between 10 to 25 years for civil servants and five to 10 years for politicians which he said the government has contravened.
He appealed to the governor to grant them more time to be able to respond to payment, saying the forced eviction could aggravate the poor economic situations of his members.
Orebe, however, blamed the Federal Mortgage Bank for its refusal to disburse funds to banks, claiming that some of his members had subscribed to the bank without remitting same to the government.
He said the sordid scenario would not have happened, but for the stoppage of disbursement of funds by Federal Mortgage Bank under President Goodluck Jonathan-led government.
Orebe urged the governor to set up machinery for the harmonisation of all the agreements reached by landlords for the payment through Aso Savings, Mortgage and outright purchase policies, so that members could be more committed to the payment schedules.
Orebe, who displayed evidence of his payment before reporters, explained that he has fulfilled his obligations through the primary mortgage institution and his house was still placed under lock and key with a three-day-old baby inside the house.
The chairman added that some of them had been living in the estate since 2008, while some moved into the estate in 2011, saying it will be wrong for them to be pushed out in this disastrous way, having contributed immensely to the development of the estate.
“Some of the landlords bought their houses through mortgage arrangement and outright purchase, which will last for a period of 10 years and five years for the payment of the full money respectively.
“Some of us have renovated our residences, spending several thousands of Naira. Some of the landladies are widows whose husbands bought the houses and died few months after they moved in here.
“These widows have no means of livelihood and there is no way they can continue with the payment. Should we now ask those people to vacate for their inabilities to pay?” he asked.
Continuing, he said: “My people are aware of their indebtedness and we have even confirmed to government when the Deputy Governor met with us. But it will be difficult for us to pay this huge amount within a spate of short time.
“But if proper arrangement is worked out, the government will get its money and it will, at the same time, be easy for us to pay. We shall be grateful if government could grant us this opportunity.”
When contacted to speak on the matter, the General Manager, Ekiti State Housing Corporation, Soji Awe was hostile to reporters as he refused to comment on the development.
Throughout the time the uproar lasted, many of the residents did not know their fate as to whether they would lose their houses completely or be given the grace to pay up as some of the buildings have been demolished by the agents of the state government.
But the state government justified its action when it claimed that house owners yet to complete payment owe government over N800 million.
It maintained that the sealing-off of the houses of defaulting occupants of Irewolede Estate has no political undertone; alleging that the affected persons “have bluntly refused to meet their contractual obligations to the government”.
In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Idowu Adelusi in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday, the government said out of 254 allocated houses in the estate, only 37 of those who were allotted houses had paid fully, adding that 217 were yet to complete payment.
“The total amount being owed by the allottees as at the time Governor Fayose assumed office was N904, 635,556.57.
“Total amount recovered since Governor Fayose assumed office was N82 million. Some of the allottees have sold or rented out the houses allocated to them.
“The allottees cut across political parties, as there are notable leaders of the PDP and APC among them. It is therefore not political. Over N800 million is being owed by the allottees as at today.
“Today alone, over N5 million was paid by some of the allottees. The government is insisting that allottees that have declined to pay for the houses allocated to them must pay. Those who are not defaulting did not have their houses sealed.
“Because Governor Fayose directed that Irewolede Housing Estate, Ado-Ekiti be sealed off because of the allottees’ refusal to pay for the houses allocated to them, over N10 million was paid today alone!
“One of the allottees paid N1million, another one paid N396, 500; two others paid N324, 000 and N225, 000 respectively. Others made payments ranging from N45, 000 to N70, 000.
“In all, 27 allottees have made payments as at 2:00 p.m., making a total sum of N87, 447,644 recovered today,” he said.
But the state chapter of the APC would have none of that as he alleged that the action was primarily targeted at its leaders, members, innocent civil servants and other members of the public perceived to have sympathy for the party.
In a statement on Thursday by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the APC described the action as “barbaric, heartless and brutish, as a three-day-old baby and her mother were locked inside the house”.
The APC said: “The action was like a movie from the blues as dangerous-looking thugs and some policemen from the Government House invaded the estate and started harassing residents, sealing off their houses.
“This caused panic among residents, including women and children, some of whom suffered shock,” it explained.
Olatunbosun regretted that the governor behaved “in this reckless manner” even though there was a subsisting mortgage agreement, which allowed the residents to pay over five to 10 years, but Fayose insisted that all the money must be paid within one month.
“As if this harassment was not enough, bulldozers have been moved into the estate to demolish structures which they claimed were constructed without approval in an apparent move to inflict pain on our members.
“If approval was not obtained, the right thing to do is to ask such people to pay the required amount and not to resort to demolition, which is in bad faith,” he said.
Olatunbosun added that the governor had earlier impounded monetised vehicles to political appointees who served in Fayemi’s administration.
Calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to save members of the APC from the governor’s iron rule, Olatunbosun warned that further harassment of APC members would be resisted by all means civil.
“Fayose should be called to order by all men and women of goodwill, as his reign of impunity is becoming embarrassing to all citizens of the state.
“His continuous trampling on the fundamental rights of citizens should be checked without further delay,” Olatunbosun said.
Following the outcry generated by the massive eviction from the estate, traditional rulers and other prominent citizens of the state made representations to Governor Fayose to show mercy to those affected.
After meeting the Obas and some leading lights of Ekiti State, Fayose, on Saturday, granted concession to the “defaulting landlords” by extending deadline for payment till November 30 while government will resume action on December 1.
Another press statement issued on Saturday by Adelusi on Fayose’s behalf said the extension was considered due to intervention by the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe, other traditional rulers and some prominent Ekiti indigenes.
He claimed that the monarchs and other eminent Ekiti citizens condemned the “lackadaisical attitude of the defaulting landlords” but pleaded with the governor to give them more time to pay up.
“The governor, however, showed compassion but warned against defaulting, stating that government will resume action against defaulters by December 1.
“Since the government action began, N13 million has been paid by some ýof the defaulters”, the statement concluded. With the temporary reprieve given to the beleaguered landlords and other residents in the estate, they are in a race against time to raise the money as another extension may not be granted.
Meanwhile, lawyers to the victims of forcible ejection have sought police protection for their clients.
They warned Governor Fayose against “avoidable violent clash between residents and law enforcement agents” over his handling of a civil matter that did not follow legal procedure.
The residents have also reacted to their plight, calling on the police authorities not to allow their men be used for illegal activities against law-abiding citizens. In a letter dated August 6, 2015, the Law Chambers of R.O. Balogun and Company called the attention of Ekiti State Commissioner of Police to the alleged Fayose-induced breach of mortgage agreement in the purchase of their clients’ houses.
“Our clients applied to the Housing Corporation for purchase of their houses and accepted the offer and paid the initial deposit in line with the Letters of Offer and took possession, and, accordingly, all of them have been occupying their respective houses, having paid the initial deposit in line with the agreement.
“By the tenure of the sale agreement, our clients are requested to pay the total cost of their houses within the period of five years from the day Offer Letters were written to them by the corporation,” the lawyers explained.
They added that the agreement also included extension of another five years to make it convenient to pay up the mortgage sum, regretting that even the first five years had not been exhausted let alone the extension of time before the governor moved against their clients.
“It is worrisome that the governor can be threatening fire and brimstone when the tenure of the mortgage has not expired.
“During the last meeting His Excellency had with our clients, he restated his threat pointblank that he will eject our clients and allocate their houses to interested buyers contrary to the mortgage agreement,” the lawyers said.
They urged the Commissioner of Police to protect their clients and prevent avoidable breakdown of law and order and its adverse consequences.
In a separate petition to the police, the residents and house owners in the estate also alleged illegal use of policemen by the governor to forcibly evict them from their homes.
In the petition also copied to the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase; National Human Rights Commission and State Director of the Department of State Services by their chairman, Ayodele Orebe; and Secretary Fidelis Adikwu, the residents complained of harassment and forceful eviction, following refusal of the governor to accept a mortgage agreement with Ekiti State Housing Corporation in the payment for their houses.
“We wish to intimate you of the subsisting mortgage repayment agreement with the State Housing Corporation ranging from five to 10 years.
“However, the corporation suddenly made a U-turn to renege on the agreement on the instruction of the governor by insisting that we must pay up in just one month,” they explained.
They said they were shocked on Thursday when armed policemen and thugs were led by some aides of the governor to seal off the houses and, in the process, a three-day-old baby and her mother were locked inside their house and the thugs went away with the keys.
They said all efforts to have audience with the governor were futile, as he insisted of having his way.
“We see this as a brazen impunity, unnecessary victimisation and violation of our fundamental human rights and we urge you to use your good offices to prevent your men from being used for illegal and inhuman actions, as the residents have not breached their repayment agreement,” they said.
They also urged the police to protect the residents against any form of harassment and forceful eviction that does not have the backing of the court of law.
The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has upheld the candidature of former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose as the party’s flag bearer for the June 21 governorship election.
Fayose’s endorsement followed the adoption of the result presented to the party’s leadership by the PDP’s Ekiti Governorship Primary Electoral Committee, headed by former Rivers State Governor Peter Odili.
No fewer than 13 of the party’s 16 aspirants are kicking against Fayose’s emergence. They alleged that the process was manipulated and the delegates’ list changed.
In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, PDP urged its supporters and other aspirants to support Fayose at the poll.
The statement reads: “The National Working Committee (NWC) has received the report of the Ekiti State Governorship Primary Electoral Committee. After thorough consideration of the report, the NWC approved the result and upheld the nomination of Fayose as the candidate of the PDP for the June, 2014, governorship election in Ekiti State.
“The NWC commends the committee for the conduct of a peaceful and transparent exercise and urges all PDP members in Ekiti, including other aspirants, to support Fayose to ensure a successful outing at the election.”
Fayose thanked the PDP leadership for providing a level play ground for all aspirants and for upholding his nomination.
In an electronic mail yesterday by his media aide, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose urged other PDP aspirants to support him.
He said: “I thank the PDP leadership and Mr. President for giving aspirants a level play ground. I thank the party leadership for upholding my nomination. I promise to deliver Ekiti State to the PDP. I appeal to those who lost to put the primary behind them and let’s work together for the party’s victory.
“The PDP umbrella is wide and accommodating. I assure them that nobody will lose and I will not victimise anybody. The interest of the party is far above any personal interest.”
