Ekiti 2018: Fayose-Adeyeye Crisis Escalates as Governor Sacks Council Officials

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
The crisis rocking Ekiti State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the
2018 governorship ticket has escalated, as Governor  Ayodele Fayose  has allegedly  suspended some party chieftains believed to be loyal to former Minister of  Works, Prince Dayo Adeyeye.

Those who were hammered included: an elected councillor for Ido/Osi
Ward, Abiodun Daramola and the PDP Chairman in the Ward, Sunday Ojo
and seven women ward leaders from Ado-Ekiti were suspended allegedly on the orders of the governor.
Fayose and Adeyeye parted ways some months ago over unresolved crisis surrounding the governor’s adoption of his deputy, Prof Kolapo Olusola,

as his preferred successor.
The suspended councilor, Daramola, in a telephone chat with our reporter yesterday disclosed that some policemen stormed the council secretariat from Ido Police Station with handcuffs to effect his arrest.
He said the policemen revealed that  they were acting on alleged instruction from Fayose not to allow him to sit at the  plenary at the council legislature with his colleagues.
The councilor disclosed that he was saved from arrest because of the personal relationship he has with the policemen.

He added that his fellow councilors told him that he was punished for being an “Adeyeye boy.”
In a statement issued by Prince Adedayo Adeyeye Movement (PAAM), the
former minister declared the suspension of the elected councilor and ward party executives  as “illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.”
PAAM Director of Media and Publicity, Niyi Ojo, in a statement on yesterday, described the suspension as “a huge joke by a shameless jester,” noting that the processes for suspension are clearly spelt out in the PDP constitution.

“One is embarrassed that a governor of a state did not know the rudimentary provisions of Nigerian Constitution and the PDP constitution in respect of elected officials.
“He unilaterally selected chairmanship of the councils and councilors
through yes and no balloting system and he has gone ahead to render them a robot  that should know have a mind of their own.

“He believes in gangsterism, thuggery, intimidation and coercion as a tool in politics of Ekiti as if he is the emperor of a conquered territory. This is a governor that has rendered every party man poor by denying them of adequate party patronage and now forcing them to do his bidding.”

The state PDP Chairman, Mr. Gboyega Oguntuase, said although the decision to suspend the officials was yet to be communicated to him, the matter would be looked into dispassionately.

Oguntuase said: “Whatever decision taken has not been communicated officially to the party but we reserve the right to look into it.
“We don’t want our people to be reading meaning into it but such matters will be looked into dispassionately and nobody will be punished for offence not committed.”