The 19 All Progressives Congress lawmakers in Ekiti State House of Assembly have explained why the peace meeting brokered by Chief Afe Babalola between them and Governor Ayodele Fayose failed to hold as scheduled for Thursday.
The lawmakers in a statement by Wole Olujobi, the Special Adviser on Media to former Speaker, Dr. Adewale Omirin, explained that while they appreciated peace moves initiated by the eminent lawyer, surrounding circumstances gave away the governor as not prepared for any resolution of the crisis.
Reacting to Chief Babalola’s claim that he had made security arrangements for 200 policemen to protect them into and out of Ado-Ekiti, the lawmakers said this alone had given away the motive of the peace meeting.
They wondered why the peace would include provision of security to escort them out of the state instead of escorting them to the House of Assembly to continue their legislative duties.
The statement said: “We cannot hold any meeting on the basis of monetary settlement in isolation of the consideration of the constitutional breaches by the governor. It is amazing that the truce terms will not include resumption of our duties, but just to settle us monetarily and escorting us out of Ekiti State.”
Picking holes in the entire arrangement for the meeting, the lawmakers wondered why the governor was announcing the peace meeting intermittently on the state media while secretly mobilising Peoples Democratic Party members from the 16 local governments to storm the venue of the meeting.
The lawmakers queried: “What is this all about if not coded incitement for mob attacks?”
They also insisted that the security agents told them in clear terms that they could not guarantee their security and warned them against passing through the streets of Ado-Ekiti to the venue of the meeting.
They added that the discovery of a plot to arrest them confirmed their fears that even though Chief Babalola might not know Fayose’s mindset, the revelation was enough to call off the meeting for a safer venue outside the state capital.
The statement said: “Our Government House sources are always credible and reliable. Details of what they revealed on the June 21 governorship election conspiracy were later confirmed by Captain Sagir Koli in his Ekitigate tape.
“The sources also gave accurate information on how Fayose planned to storm the Assembly to illegally impeach Speaker Omirin and illegally install Dele Olugbemi, the same way they gave accurate information on the attack on our secretariat, including the types of guns and number and colours and vehicles to be used for the attack.
“Fayose was popping champagne in the Government House last night after supervising petrol sale at a filling station along Ilawe road. His loquacious lifestyle gave him away as he sat with his aides celebrating the end to his impeachment moves, boasting that two of the lawmakers would be arrested and kept in detention until June 1, thereby depriving APC lawmakers the needed quorum for his impeachment.”
The lawmakers proposed that the meeting be moved to the Ibadan, Oyo State office of the senior lawyer, while members on the committee must be non-partisan elders.
Listing their truce terms, they demand immediate removal of all illegal structures that aid the activities of thugs and miscreants in and around the Ekiti State House of Assembly premises; restoration of the constitutionally recognised Speaker, Rt. Hon. Omirin Adewale, and other principal officers illegally impeached back to their lawful positions; and the G19 should be allowed unfettered access to and from the Ekiti State House of Assembly to perform their legislative duties until the expiration of their tenure on June 6, 2015.
Others include cessation of political arrests and vendetta against APC members and for Fayose to the meeting of these demands between now and May 4, 2015.
They expressed sincere appreciation to the elders who facilitated the meeting and urged them to consider holding the meeting at a neutral and safer venue.
Also in a position paper by the lawmakers on Thursday, they also expressed reservations on the open support by the governor for PDP lawmakers to prevent them from the precincts of the Ekiti State House of Assembly since November, 2014.
They said Fayose had been using security agents to hound them, including the removal of principal officers by PDP defectors in clear breach of the Supreme Court judgment in Hon. Ifedayo Sunday Abegunde Vs Ondo State House of Assembly & others suit Number SC 643/2014, which asked the defected House of Representatives member to vacate his seat.
They said the governor’s backing for PDP lawmakers had resulted in the invasion of the Assembly by thugs and miscreants, instigation of unconstitutional takeover of the House of Assembly by 7 (Seven ) members in contravention of Section 96(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
They also complained about the prevention of the 19 APC legislators from performing their legislative duties with the use of security agents and armed thugs in contravention of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
Others include sponsoring an unlawful impeachment of constitutionally elected leaders of the Ekiti State House of Assembly; running the Government of Ekiti State without a legally constituted State Executive Council in contravention of Section 192(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended); and spending Ekiti State funds without the requisite constitutional approval in contravention of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
They also listed operating an illegal 2015 Budget in contravention of the provisions of the constitution (as amended); and sponsoring illegal sittings of seven members of the House contrary to Section 96(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
They also listed bills duly passed by the Fourth Assembly, but which were illegally repealed by an illegal group of seven, which took over the assembly by unconstitutional means.
They include: Creation of Additional Local Government Areas Bill; Ekiti State Traffic Management Bill; Peace Corp Bill; Governor & Deputy Government Entitlement Bill; Social Security for the Elderly Bill; Ekiti State Official Logo Bill; and School of Agric Bill
According to them, a group of seven PDP members also Illegally passed Forestry Bill, College of Education, Ikere Bill, Environmental Bill and Appropriation Bill 2015.
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