The Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin, has opened up on the relationship between the lawmakers and Governor Ayo Fayose, stating that “The state is being ruled by a maximum ruler and a dictator who runs his administration on lies and falsehood.”
Omirin cleared the air on the statement he reportedly made on Tuesday that there was no assassination attempt on his life and decried a story aired on the radio and television channels of the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES) in which the stations claimed that he (Omirin) was misled in the recent actions taken by the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers.
Addressing a briefing in Aisegba-Ekiti, Gbonyin Local Government Area, the Speaker said what was in the undertaking he signed at the state police command was that he did not see suspected assassins, who came to his Ado-Ekiti home on Monday night but concerned residents informed him of the presence of strange men outside his home.
He said what he said at the police headquarters tallied with the content of the statement issued by his media aide, Wole Olujobi.
The Speaker said Fayose had made it impossible for the APC lawmakers to perform their legislative functions by writing to the police to arrest them immediately they arrive in the state and at the same time accusing them of abandoning their duty post.
He said the governor had stopped the salaries of all the APC lawmakers “even when he (Fayose) lacks the constitutional powers to do so”.
Speaking on why they held a sitting at a secret location, Omirin said the standing order and the constitution empowered them to do so when their lives are in danger, noting that “abnormal situation calls for abnormal solutions”.
“Few days after our last sitting, the governor wrote to the commissioner of police that we should be arrested and I told him that all of us are ready for arrest and there is no law stopping us from sitting anywhere if our lives are threatened.
“The governor has been calling for my head since then and I don’t think that the governor has a genuine love for Ekiti State because each time we are coming to the state, he would accuse us of bringing thugs to the state, which is not true.
“The case in court was filed to challenge my “removal” and not that we should not sit. Fayose has stopped our salaries, our running grants and other entitlements. He has no power to stop our salaries.
“We have a maximum ruler in Ekiti, a dictator and that is what the President is doing at the federal level, where impunity is going on unabated.”
The Speaker noted that the APC lawmakers had contacted the National Assembly on the alleged illegality and impunity in Ekiti.
“We have contacted the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, on the need for an interface with us. They are reconvening next week and we will be there to state our own position. I believe something will be done about this illegality.
“Governor Fayose has no power under the law to stop our salaries. We belong to a different arm of government and he has no reason to act in this most unlawful way.”
The Speaker also denied requesting for Christmas gift from Fayose, contrary to what the governor told the public.
He said that “I want the Commissioner of Police, Taiwo Lakanu, to publish what I wrote in the undertaking if I said I was being misled by APC leaders. I cannot be teleguided by anybody at 59.
“My dealings with Fayose since he was sworn in had made me realise that his administration was founded on falsehood and blackmail.
“I have tried with my colleagues to reach a truce with Fayose, but each time we made efforts what we see are petitions to security agencies blackmailing us that we were planning to invade the state with thugs.
“On New Year’s day, Fayose phoned me to greet me and he jokingly requested for his Christmas gifts, which I quickly replied that he should be the one to give me Christmas gifts.
“He said he did not know the place to take the gifts to whether Osogbo, Lagos or Ado- Ekiti, but I was surprised when he claimed that I was begging for Christmas gifts.
“This puts me in a difficult position to discuss with the governor because whatever I say he would turn against me.
“I found it so funny to read on the pages of newspapers that Fayose said I requested Christmas gifts. This is petty and I won’t be part of it.”
But the governor described Omirin as “a confused person, inconsistent and should be ignored”.
Fayose, who spoke through his chief press secretary in a statement yesterday, said that “Omirin and other APC lawmakers, who have sent themselves on self exile, have become inconsequential in Ekiti politics. They should enjoy their exile and wait for the court to decide their case.
“Omirin and his co- travellers cannot hold the state to ransom. The propaganda they are doing is to impress their paymasters because they are broke.”
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