Ekiti lawmakers seek refuge in Ibadan, allege threat to live

The crisis between Ekiti State Government, its lawmakers on the one hand and the Presidency and the Department of State Services (DSS), on the other,  got messier on Wednesday when nine members of the State House of Assembly fled the Ado-Ekiti and headed to Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The fleeing lawmakers, who addressed journalists at the NUJ press center, Iyaganku, Ibadan, alleged that their flight from Ado-Ekiti was occasioned by a tip-off that there was a plan by the Federal government allegedly working in concert with the DSS to arrest some lawmakers in the state or alternatively, to infiltrate their ranks through monetary inducement amounting to one million dollars to impeach the state governor, Peter Ayodele Fayose.

Same Wednesday, Governor Fayose changed the narratives of the abduction of about 294 from their school in Chibok, Borno State in 2014, saying nothing of such actually happened but was mere fabrication of some politicians to remove former President Goodluck Jonathan from office.

The governor criticised the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government for deluding Nigerians over the purportedly missing students of Chibok girls, which he described as a weapon deployed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to defeat Jonathan at all cost.

Governor Fayose spoke at the two-day workshop organised by Women Arise for Change Initiative.

In the words of Fayose, “The cries over missing girls were just a political strategy. What could Boko Haram have used to carry those girls? Though, if truly missing, they should be recovered. One thing I know is that, what is not missing you cannot get”.

The fleeing lawmakers, led by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Adewumi Olusegun, said they were on transit because of the latest invasion of the state by one CSP Mohammed Abubakar of the Force CID, Abuja.

The Chairman, House Committee on Information, Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan, who addressed journalists, was assisted by Dr. Omotoso Samuel and the Chief Whip, Hon. Akinniyi Sunday.

The three other lawmakers of the Assembly earlier declared missing by the state government in the wake of alleged DSS invasion of the Assembly complex three weeks ago have resurfaced in Ado-Ekiti, claiming that they were not kidnapped, nor arrested by the men of DSS as earlier claimed by them

The trio resurfaced legislators, namely Sina Animashaun; Musa Arogundade and Badejo Anifowose re-united with their colleagues at the assembly complex late Tuesday evening.

The feeling lawmakers unequivocally restated their loyalty to Fayose as they maintained that, “no amount of intimidation, arrest, detention, harassment and monetary inducement will make us dance to the tune of those whose only interest is to truncate the Fayose-led government and return to power through the back door.”

“They lost election in June, 2014 and they lost four other elections in 2015. They should stop trying to get to power through the backdoor. They should stop this harassment, intimidation and use of federal power to oppress innocent Nigerians,” they stated.

While sensitising Nigerians on the dangers that the continuous victimisation and invasion of Ekiti State by security agents portend for the nation’s democracy, the lawmakers further alleged that their lives and existence are now being threatened by agents of the Federal Government “and we no longer feel safe in our various homes in Ekiti State.”

“We want Nigerians to help us ask the police and their APC collaborators what the arms they claimed were stockpiled during the election used for? Could arms have been stockpiled and no violence, death or attack was recorded during and after the election? Why is the APC in Ekiti state willing to bring to ridicule all agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria just because the party lost an election fair and square close to two years ago?

“And why is the police not arresting the APC chairman, Jide Awe who is wanted for alleged murder and TKO Aluko, who was declared wanted by the court for perjury, and instead providing security cover for them?

“Even though we believe that the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, a thoroughbred professional cannot be part of this clandestine plot, we call on Nigerians to impress it upon the police not to allow itself to be used by desperate APC politicians. This is because doing so will further expose the penchant of the Buhari-led administration for dictatorship.”

As of the time they were addressing reporters yesterday, they said, “No member of the assembly is remaining in that state. It is not a question of nine of us here with you. All of us, the 26 members were targeted but they were trying to arrest 11 of us, some of us seated here have their names in their target.”

“We are not going to hide for them. We will resist them with the last blood in our vein, we won’t be coerced, let it be known to them that we won’t shift ground no matter the amount of intimidation and harassment. We won’t go into hiding.”