Traditional Rulers Are Biased Arbiters In Ekiti Assembly Crisis, Says APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has accused the State Council of Traditional Rulers of bias in the handling of the crisis between Governor Ayodele Fayose and the 19 APC lawmakers in the House of Assembly. Reacting to what it called the partisan intervention by the traditional rulers on the crisis, the party said it was not surprised by the partisan role of the traditional rulers against the backdrop of their complicity in the festering of the crisis before it became unmanageable.

The State Chairman of the party, Jide Awe, in a statement regretted that the traditional leaders by their behaviour had confirmed the allegations raised against them in the media by a group of concerned Ekiti youths that the obas agreed to support Fayose when he sought their cooperation while unleashing mayhem on the opposition.

“When we read in the media that the Obas agreed to keep quiet when Fayose unleashes violence on the opposition, we did not believe until events began to unfold. To respond to this clearly unfortunate partisan position by the obas, we will like to ask the same questions that one Ekiti youth group, Ekiti Youth Vanguard, posed to one of the eminent leaders in Ekiti, who refused to talk while Fayose was abusing the constitution and attacking his opponents but now came to his aid when the governor was about paying for his impunity and constitutional breaches.

“We ask: where were the obas when Fayose stormed the court to desecrate the temple of justice? They kept quiet. Where were they when the 19 lawmakers were being hunted in their homes? What did they say or do when seven members of PDP held illegal sitting to purportedly impeach Omirin? The seven PDP lawmakers sat to approve the budget, Fayose’s cabinet nominees and pass certain laws that required public hearings but they refused to hold public hearings on these laws, what did the obas say about these illegal acts and what did they say or do as the fathers of all to correct the anomalies?

“What did they say when Fayose withdrew Omirin’s security aides, seized his official car, locked up his office, cut electricity supply to his house, forced him out of his official quarters and illegally sacked his‎ aides?

“What did our obas say when Fayose seized the salaries and allowances of the lawmakers and their campaign posters and billboards destroyed by Fayose’s thugs? What did they say about constitutional breaches which Fayose committed with impunity? The kabiyesi were alive when the lawmakers were not allowed into Ekiti State to attend their campaign rallies, what did they do?.”

The party regretted that the Obas chose to keep quiet when Fayose turned the heat on the lawmakers but now found it convenient to blame the lawmakers when the governor was under threat of impeachment over trampling on the Constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria.

The party also said it was shocked that within a short period, the traditional rulers forgot the respect accorded them by the APC-led government and now preferred a man who held them in contempt by clearly showing partisanship in support of Fayose while breaking the law of the country.

“Why praising the Chief Judge for not setting up the panel to investigate Fayose over his illegal acts? This is a clear support for brigandage and lawlessness and it is unfortunate that the crisis is being turned into a profiteering escapade in the face of ridicule and lawlessness in our state by the governor that has put Ekiti people in shame across the globe,” the statement added.