Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, last Monday stirred controversy by placing an advert in some national newspapers suggesting that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, might die in office if elected president. Despite the outrage many Nigerians have expressed on Fayose and the advert , he has not seen anything wrong with it.
Immediately he was declared winner of June 21, 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State, Fayose left no one in doubt that nothing has changed in his approach to public issues. He does things with impunity.
Before he was sworn in October, last year, Fayose made took some actions that portrayed him as someone that was obsessed with power even ever before he took the oath of office. On September 6, 2014, former Governor Kayode Fayemi, while still in office, imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Ekiti State as part of measures maintain law and order. The former governor had explained that the curfew was necessitated by the widespread violence that greeted the murder of a former Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Mr Omolafe Aderiye, by gunmen.
Rather than encourage his supporters and admirers to abide with the directive of the government, Fayose, as governor-elect, went on air and called on the residents of the state to ignore the curfew, that they should go about their normal businesses. Justifying his action, the governor-elect said: “It is unfortunate that people have been put under needless pressure and I have discussed with the police and the army on the need to let people move around freely. As from today, I have released people to go about freely. There is no more curfew. No security agent will arrest you. Anyone who is harassed or arrested should call me.”
On September 23, 2014, the political thugs allegedly loyal to Fayose descended on a High Court Judge, Justice J.A. Adeyeye, beat and dragged him on the ground. The judge’s suit was also torn into shreds. There was a similar siege to the court premises on September 22, when the same thugs distrupted court proceedings apparently to avert the delivery of a ruling which they suspected could go against the governor-elect.
Thus, under the watch of the governor-elect, suspected political thugs, twice in four days, violently invaded and distrupted proceedings at the Ekiti State High Court in Ado-Ekiti. The record book of the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, was torn to shreds by the thugs who also halted proceedings at the Ekiti State Election Petitions Tribunal housed in the High Court premises. The police officers on guard duty were helpless, while judges, magistrates and other members of staff scampered to save their lives, having witnessed how court properties were recklessly being vandalised or completely destroyed. The assault forced the CJ to order the immediate closure of all state high courts in Ekiti.
The ultimate goal of the unruly behaviour of Fayose’s supporters was to intimidate the judge handling the suit over whether he was eligible to contest the June, 2014 governorship election.
As he was still waiting to take oath of office, Fayose stirred another hornet’s nest when he alleged that the outgoing government had piled up a debt profile of nearly N84 billion for his administration. “They took N31 billion in the first instance and paid about N10 billion and they took another N22 billion loan and the state is having N552 million monthly deficit and the repayment is still 2020.”
The state government debunked the allegation, saying the total debt profile was not up to one-third of what Fayose quoted. It went further to explain that much of the debts were part of the money spent on the maintenance of federal roads in the state and the Federal Govenment had refused to reimburse it. Since he took over, Fayose has mellowed down on the issue of debt.
After being sworn-in as governor, the first act of impunity carried out under his close watch was the impeachment of the Speaker, Ekiti House of Assembly Dr. Adewale Omirin by seven out of 26 members. Instead of being neutral in the crisis, Fayose pitched his tent with the minority goup in the House. He recognised one Dele Olugbemi elected as Speaker by the seven members. The minority approved the list of commissioners earlier sent by the governor, but which were not approved by the Omirin regime.
Fayose presented the 2015 budget to the minority law makers. It was instantly approved. The Omirin group could not hold sitting in the Chamber for their safety. The governor that swore to abide by the constitution had violated it brazenly. In all these, the silence of the PDP and Abuja was outstanding; the main reason many feel that Fayose may have been acting on a well-tailored script from the seat of power.
In less than two months in the saddle, Fayose trimmed down the 36 ministries in the state to 26. He said: “I had to reduce the 36 to 26 because of finance. The recent fall in oil price is worrisome and indicates that tough days are ahead.” Some civil servants in the state lost their jobs as a result of the merger of ministries. Besides, Governor Fayose had abolished the new Local Council Development Areas created by his predecessor and laid off staff. The social security for senior citizens in the state introduced by Fayemi was axed by Fayose. Each of the beneficiaries was entitled to N5,000 per month. If these measures were taken to ensure prudent management of state funds, how would Governor Fayose justify the huge amounted he has committed to President Jonathan re-election bid through the placement of adverts in the newspapers running into several millions of naira?
As he was about to face the electorate for the governorship battle, a penitent Fayose then appealed to the people to forgive whatever mistakes he might have made during his first three-year rule (2003-2006).
He had said: “They should give me a chance so that I will turn around the fortunes of the less-privileged in the state. I want them to know that I am Ayo Fayose, 12 years older, more responsible, more experienced and I will listen. I am finally now exhibiting a moral compass about leadership and governance.”
So far, however, there seems to be no element of repentance or remorse visible in Fayose yet. Controversy is the game!
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