The People’s Democratic Party in Ekiti State and the outgoing governor of the State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi have traded blames over the causes of the violent protest in Ekiti State.
While the Governor blamed the Governor-elect, Ayodele Fayose, for the crisis, the PDP accused Fayemi of not showing enough concern over the death of a former state Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Omolafe Aderiye.
The party said it was only a wicked and heartless leader that would make a state broadcast without mentioning the name of the slain union boss and not sympathising with his family.
Fayemi who asked Nigerians to hold Fayose liable for the current crisis in the State, said that the State had been relatively peaceful until his attack on judges and disruption of court proceedings during the week.
The Governor stated this while assessing the level of damage done by hoodlums who burned down the State and Ado Local Government secretariats of the All Progressives Congress, the residence and five vehicles belonging to the former Chairman of the Road Transport Employees Association of Nigeria, Mr Joseph Olambiwonu, alias Mentilo, among several other properties destroyed following the Thursday night murder of Aderiye.
According to a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, Fayemi lamented that some people did not care about returning the State to its dark old days between 2003 and 2006 in their desperate bid to actualise their ambitions.
Maintaining that the crisis was fuelled by Fayose, the Governor urged President Goodluck Jonathan to begin his promised commitment to security at the United Nations General Assembly by prevailing on Fayose before he turns Ekiti State to a crisis-ridden State.
He also urged all concerned authorities to advise Fayose to stop his flagrant disrespect of the law.
But the PDP in a statement issued on Saturday by its Ekiti State Publicity Secretary, Kola Oluwawole, wondered if what happened in the State High Court premises on Monday and Thursday could be more important to Fayemi than the murder of an Ekiti son.
The party wondered why Fayemi could not pray for the repose of the soul of the slained Omolafe Aderiye in the state broadcast.
“He did not even mentioned his name. He just said someone was killed.
“So, in the wicked mind of Fayemi, Omolafe Aderiye, a prominent son of Ado-Ekiti, who led the NURTW for years was just someone?
“Instead of showing concern for the soul already lost, Fayemi’s concern was ‘Court Cases’ with which he intends to remain in power despite that Ekiti people rejected him totally on June 21, 2014.
“This is the height of wickedness!”
The party also described Fayemi’s directive to the Attorney General of the state to issue a legal advisory to the Chief Judge of the state and all the parties to the existing cases in the State High Court and the Ekiti State Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal, on the desirability of seeking an alternative venue for the hearing of these cases outside Ekiti State as “an aberration.”
Oluwawole said, “Obviously, Fayemi has lost it all. The governor has allowed himself to be taken over by desperation to remain in power such that he could not understand that what he asked the Attorney-General to do simply amount to interfering in the workings of the judiciary, a separate arm of government.”
Meanwhile, Fayemi on Friday paid a condolence visit to the family of Aderiye who was killed on Thursday by unknown gunmen in Ado Ekiti.
Fayemi who was earlier advised by some security aides to defer his visit to the family insisted that he had to see Aderiye’s family because the late driver was also a citizen until he was killed.
According to a statement by Oyebode, the Governor who was received by Aderiye’s two wives, Kehinde and Funmilayo, as well as some of the deceased’s children consoled the family and assured that the perpetrators of the heinous act would not go scot free.
“Those who are responsible for burning houses, vehicles and killing an innocent soul, I believe the maximum weight of the law will be brought on them.
The investigations are on and will ultimately yield dividends. Enough of this waste of lives in Ekiti. If I am a thug, Ekiti wouldn’t have experienced peace in the last four years of my administration.
“It is not that I don’t know the politics of bitterness but I was not trained to do such. There’s no way I can wish ill to my neighbour, how much more someone who is close to me,” Fayemi added.
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