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PDP Raises Alarm Over Plot To Impeach Fayose …As Ekiti Assembly Adjourns Sine Die
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) to stop what it described as APC’s nefarious plot to impeach the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose.
The PDP, therefore, warned APC to back off or face dire consequences.
The PDP explained that the plot was to invade the Ekiti State Government House and tamper with documents of evidence regarding how APC rigged the recently concluded governorship election in the state.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, yesterday, the PDP said the impeachment plot was being planned by the APC in connivance with the police.
The PDP, however, warned that such plots would amount to “a recipe for crisis in the peaceful state.”
According to the statement, “The PDP is aware that the plot is a desperate bid by the APC to rush into the Ekiti Government House to remove and tamper with documents and evidence confirming the rigging of the July 14 governorship election, ahead of the sitting of the election tribunal.
“Having realized that there is no way their daylight robbery at the poll can stand in the court; the APC is now employing all desperate means to subvert the course of justice.
“This explains why a detachment of the police can be hurriedly deployed to besiege the Ekiti State Assembly Complex, last night without a formal request by the Speaker, the Clerk or the Sergeant-at-Arms, who is the chief security officer of the complex.
“The PDP states that any resort to underhand measures to impeach Fayose, without the constitutionally required 2/3 of the members of the House, particularly at this time, when the lawmakers are currently on their annual recess, will surely be resisted by our members.
Accusing the APC of “plotting crisis all over the nation and resorting to the use of harassment, intimidation and brute force against the people and our democratic institutions,” the PDP warned that “these dispositions of APC and its Federal Government portend grave danger for our nation.
“Now that the political and parliamentary establishment of the Ekiti House of Assembly has loudly declared that they do not require the services of the detachment of policemen, PDP charges the APC to immediately withdraw their armed agents from the premises of the House of Assembly.
“The PDP urges the judiciary to be firm in standing by the truth on the Ekiti election and not be cowed or intimidated by the threats and pressure coming from the APC.
“Nigerians know the truth regarding the rigging of the Ekiti guber election by the APC and are now looking up to the judiciary for justice in the matter,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the Ekiti State House of Assembly has raised the alarm over alleged deployment of heavily armed policemen to the premises of the House without an official request.
However, when journalists visited the Assembly as of 10.00 am, the policemen have been withdrawn and the premises kept under lock and key.
The Speaker of the Assembly, Hon Kola Oluwawole, who briefed newsmen in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, said the anti-riot policemen were deployed around 9 pm on Wednesday.
Oluwawole, who addressed newsmen in company of 17 other members, accused members who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) prior to the July 14 governorship election as being responsible for the act.
The Speaker said one of the defected lawmakers allegedly forged a letter purportedly written by the Clerk, Mr. Tola Esan and addressed to the Police Commissioner, Mr. Bello Ahmed calling for the deployment when such was unwarranted.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers; Hon Gboyega Aribisogan, Sunday Akinniyi and Ebenezer Alagbada, decamped to APC owing to irreconcilable differences with Governor Ayodele Fayose.
Oluwawole drew the attention of the public to the antics of the opposition and their alleged resolve to cause confusion in the Assembly, saying there will be no legislative duty in the assembly until members resume from recess on October 8, 2018.
The Speaker ordered indefinite closure of the House pending the time security of lawmakers and staff of the hallowed chamber can be guaranteed.
Oluwawole said the Assembly in a letter dated July 26 and addressed to the CP, had lodged complaints of forgery against Hon. Aribisogan , and his call for illicit deployment of policemen in the assembly describing the action as not only shocking but a travesty in the country’s democratic history.
He said the Clerk of the House, Mr. Tola Esan, had on July 26 written a similar letter, dissociating himself from the letter purportedly written by him requesting police cover at the Assembly, urging the police authority to conduct unfettered investigations into the issue and bring the culprits to justice.
The Speaker said: “This is strange in democracy, for lawmakers to wake up and see unauthorised police deployment in the legislative arm of government. On Wednesday at about 9 pm, police authority deployed two detachments of heavily armed policemen to the premises of the Assembly. This came to us as a shock, because we are in recess and such action was unwarranted.
“The Assembly and the Clerk had reacted to a letter purportedly written by the latter calling for police deployment. We have told police authority in clear terms that such document should be treated like a forged document because the Clerk could not have written any official letter without consulting with me; he worked closely with my office as a Speaker.
“Before now, we had it on good authority that police were planning to provide cover for the three defected lawmakers to perpetrate violence in the Assembly and cause confusion as well as endanger the lives of our staff.
“As we speak, the lives of our people are no longer safe, because the police and APC thugs have laid siege to Ekiti Assembly and under this circumstance, our staff are no longer safe and we declare indefinite closure of the Assembly pending the time security can be guaranteed.
“We have not recovered from the harassment and abduction of our members by police during the July 14 election. But let me say expressly that such strange police deployment was unsolicited, unwarranted and ultra vires”, he said.
Lending credence to the Speaker’s position, the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Hon. Samuel Omotoso, said 23 members of the Assembly were behind the Speaker and Governor Fayose.
“As you can see, we have 23 members of PDP out of 26 solidly behind the Speaker and our governor. We hereby pass votes of confidence on their leadership. We remain unshaken in our resolve to protect democracy.
“You can see that 18 of us are here, but the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Sina Animasaun and Hon. Dada Celilcia, are in Lagos on official assignments, while Hon Titi Owolabi has just lost her hubby, Hon Ojo Ade Fajana is out of the country and Hon Tope Fasanmi travelled with the governor to Abuja, so we are united and strong”.
When called to react to the allegation, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Caleb Ikechukwu could not be reached, as his mobile phone was switched off.
Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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