Members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly during the first term of the Governor-Elect, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, have appealed to those trying to truncate the wish of the people of the state shown by their overwhelming support for Fayose in the June 21 poll to consider the consequences of swimming against the tide.
In a statement in Ado-Ekiti on Monday and signed by Hons. Gbadebo Ibuoye, Olubunmi Olugbade, Amogunniyi Fadare, Ayo Adekoya Benson, Eyeoawa Gabriel Sunday, Leo Olumie Falade and Adewole Bode Albert, they also explained how the lawmakers were used by external forces to illegally remove Fayose from office then.
The statement was entitled ‘Governor Ayo Fayose purported impeachment in 2006- The truth of the matter and our side of the story’.
The ex-lawmakers recollected events that led to the eventual declaration of a State of Emergency in Ekiti, saying some forces coerced them using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission into committing an act that was illegal.
“In 2006, the leadership of the House of Assembly, specifically the Rt Honourable Speaker and the Majority Leader (late Rt Hon. Friday Aderemi and Hon. Babade Kayode) had been indicted by the House in the report of a special committee set up by the House to investigate the activities of the duo and look into the finances of the House. The Committee had come out with a recommendation to replace the two of them with immediate effect having been found culpable.
“The duo ran to Governor Ayo Fayose to plead with them to persuade and prevail on the House to hold the report in abeyance to allow time to appeal to members for forgiveness and restitution, which Governor Ayo Fayose accepted in the interest of enhancing the stability of the House.
“In the process, the House leadership recruited a few disgruntled members of the House who had personal issues against the governor into its fold and struck a deal with the members of the E-11. “The leadership of the House and the E-11 contacted the EFCC through its then dreaded chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, who effectively coerced, intimidated and forced members of the House to sign an impeachment notice prepared by the EFCC in its Lagos office,” they said.
While taking responsibility for being forced to truncate Fayose’s regime in 2006, the former legislators said God has used the people of the state to compensate Fayose by being voted as governor and prayed that those making efforts to truncate the people’s choice would not succeed.
