Ekiti Assembly warns Buhari, vows to resist attempt to remove Fayose

Ekiti state House of Assembly has described the military panel report set up on 2014 Ekiti governorship election as a calculated means by the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) to remove the state governor, Ayodele Fayose and vowed to resist any attempt to use it to remove him.

Specifically, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Kola Oluwawole, said “it is an aberration for a military panel to review an election widely adjudged the best and confirmed by various courts in Nigeria.”

At a special session of the House in Ado-Ekiti on Monday, House Committee Chairman on Information, Hon. Gboyega Aribisogun, said the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari are out to muzzle the opposition in the country and to use frivolous panel report to cause mayhem in Ekiti state.

The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Segun Adewumi, said Buhari’s government is vengeful, adding “why should the 2014 Ekiti governorship election be challenged having been described as credible, free and fair by the international community.

In its eight-point resolution after the plenary session, the lawmakers criticised, condemned and rejected the military panel report on the 2014 governorship election in the state.

Said the legislators: “We condemn in its entirety the report of Major General Adeniyi Oyebade which concentrated its indictment of its officers on their roles only in Ekiti and exonerated the APC’s state of Osun and Edo.

“That the self-indictment of the military after it has been commended by both local and international observer is an embarrassment to Nigeria and the army as an institution.

“That Ekiti Assembly is not unaware of the subterranean moves of the APC in its desperate bid to use the report tainted with bias and compromise to attempt a takeover of government through the back door. We are also aware of moves by the APC-led federal government to intimidate, muzzle and kill the voice of opposition elements especially Governor Ayo Fayose.

“We unequivocally will resist any attempt by the APC-led federal government to truncate the democratically elected government of Ekiti state through an army panel report or undemocratic process.

“That we stood by the mandate, freely given to Governor Fayose by Ekiti people on June 21, 2014, through an election that was devoid of violence, arson and killings and shall defend the mandate till 2018 when another opportunity will be available for the APC to contest in the state.

“We have no apology and regret for our loyalty to Governor Ayo Fayose and we support and shall continue to support him as the only standing opposition leader in Nigeria.

“We will defend him against attempts to intimidate, suppress, repress or muzzle him in his drive towards a better Nigeria.

The lawmakers later pass a vote of confidence on Governor Ayo Fayose, for his pragmatic leadership, fearlessness and his courage in the face of tyranny and oppression.

The Speaker, later appeal to the human rights community to take note on what is happening in the country and speak up now.