Fayose, APC Lawmakers in War of Words

The war of words between the Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Peter Ayodele Fayose and the members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state House of Assembly seeking his impeachment continued on Monday.
While the Governor took his cause to the residents of the state, the legislators accused him of instigating crisis.
Fayose also said that nobody asked him to resign as the Governor contrary to the rumour being peddled by some people.
The Governor, who featured in a monthly programme tagged ‘Mr Governor’s Explains’ on State-based media, urged his supporters not to be rattled by the impeachment fever, saying he would defeat the APC once again.
He said the impeachment threat could not rattle him in any way, because the plot against him was against the people of the state, who elected him.
The Governor said what the APC wanted was to take over Ekiti and plunge the state into crisis the way they did after he left in 2006.
Quoting copiously from the Holy Bible, Fayose said the plan to impeach him would not succeed as it did during his first term.
“What actually infuriated the APC is that during the June 21 election, I gave them 16-0. During the presidential election, I gave them 16-0 again. They know that I will give them 26-0 in the next Saturday
election,” Fayose said.
He continued: “Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari emerged due to the grace of God. If President Goodluck Jonathan had won, would he have gone to impeach Governor Rauf Aregbesola in Osun State or Senator Ibikunle Amosun in Ogun State?
“Buhari’s emergence can only be a threat to my seat when there is no rule of law, because Nigeria is a federation. Even the former Speaker, Hon Adewale Omirin is not the Speaker, so he cannot carry out any impeachment against me”.
Fayose urged the people of the State to come out en-masse during the April elections and cast their votes for the PDP to stem the tide of violence in the state.
“My Government is a people’s government and no power of darkness can remove me from office because we are doing what is right. Must I be in the APC for me to be Governor? They were in the opposition before they took over and we will continue to exist together”, Fayose said.
But the 19 APC lawmakers told the Governor that violence would not work over his impeachment notice. Alleging that he is instigating crisis in the state, they said doing such was not the way to go in defending the removal notice served him by the Assembly.
The APC lawmakers, who said they were reacting to alleged violent attacks on residents and passersby in the premises of the House of Assembly by suspected thugs on Monday, said resorting to violence against Ekiti people was compounding the problems of the Governor.
In a statement by Wole Olujobi, the Special Adviser on Media to Speaker Adewale Omirin, the lawmakers said violence would not solve the burden of constitutional breaches that the governor had allegedly placed on himself.
They frowned at the alleged invasion of the Assembly by thugs, wondering why a governor who 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.