Ekiti State
governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose has told the President Muhammadu Buhari
led-All Progressives Congress government to stop harassing his
government by threatening functionaries of the government with arrest
and looking for how his election was funded, declaring that; “my
election was not funded with public fund and President Buhari and his
APC should also tell Nigerians how their own elections were funded.”
Addressing journalists in Abuja on
Sunday, June 19, 2016 Governor Fayose said, “Certain top functionaries
of the Ekiti State government and some important members of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, in Ekiti State, and some associates of mine, have
now been pencilled down for arrest and indefinite detention by the EFCC
under the guise of investigating the funds spent by the PDP on the June
21, 2014 governorship election and the presidential election.”
“Some politicians from Ekiti State,
including an Ekiti born senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and
self-professed human rights activist and a special adviser to the vice
president are involved in the plot being coordinated through the office
of the secretary to the government of the federation and the attorney
general of the federation,” Fayose told the press in a statement.
According to Fayose, the game plan was
to make those to be arrested get detained indefinitely, forced them to
make statements incriminating him, while at the same time feeding the
public with orchestrated fake reports, using their usual media organs.
The governor however advised those
behind the plot “to keep their gunpowder dry and should not be in a
hurry, but rather, wait till the end of my tenure in 2018.”
Govenor Fayose challenged the EFCC to
tell Nigerians why it was silent on the many petitions submitted to it
against APC leaders, especially former governor of Ekiti State, Dr
Kayode Fayemi.
Full text of the address reads:
“I called you here to intimate the public through your various
medium, the new clandestine plot by the President Muhammadu Buhari led
All Progressives Congress (APC) Federal Government to destabilise the
Ekiti State Government, using the instrumentalities of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“Recall that a lot has been said about
my election. First they said it was photochromic and later
militarization. The election was challenged up to the supreme Court and I
came out victorious. Remember too that international observers
including the US Govt applauded the election.
“However, those who lost the election
adjudged as free, fair and credible are yet to accept the will of God
and the people of Ekiti State.
“A few days ago, we got it on good
authority that there was a meeting with some politicians from Ekiti
State, including an Ekiti born Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and
self-professed human rights activist by agents of the Federal
government, with the agenda solely, on how to bring down my
administration as the governor of the state.
“Activities of these elements that are
obviously afraid of facing another electoral defeat in 2018 are being
coordinated through the office of the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir Lawal and the Attorney General of the
Federation.
“Certain top functionaries of the Ekiti
State government and some important members of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, and some associates of mine, have now been
pencilled down for arrest and indefinite detention by the EFCC under the
guise of investigating the funds spent by the PDP on the June 21, 2014
governorship election and the Presidential election.
“The game plan is to make those to be
arrested get detained indefinitely, forced to make statements
incriminating me, while at the same time feeding the public with
orchestrated fake reports, using their usual media organs.
“This is coming after their failure to
use the Department of State Services (DSS) to coerce members of the
State House of Assembly to buy into the impeachment plot against me with
a view to silencing me being a major voice of the opposition.
“The plot to arrest and detain
indefinitely my Chief of Staff, Chief Dipo Anisulowo and four honourable
members of the state House of Assembly for treason.
“To achieve this sinister plot against
the government and people of Ekiti State, we have been informed that
some of their trusted allies in the EFCC have been mobilised to move to
Ekiti any moment from now.
“I, however, wish to advice them to keep
their gun power dry and should not be in a hurry, but rather, wait till
the end of my tenure in 2018.
“As a man known to keeping to his words,
I want to assure them that I will be available to answer any of their
questions, no matter how unreasonable.
“While we are not afraid of persecution
from anyone or government agency, including the EFCC and DSS, I wish to
state that the level at which the Buhari-led Federal Government is
taking political vendetta and muzzling of opposition both in the PDP and
within the APC, is dangerous to the survival of democracy in the
country.
“Most importantly, Nigerians must begin
to ask the EFCC what has happened to the several petitions against APC
leaders and financiers of President Buhari’s election, including former
governors.
“For instance, on September 29, 2014,
the EFCC received a petition against former governor of Ekiti State, Dr
Kayode Fayemi and other APC top-shots in Ekiti State. In the petition
written by a group; Save Ekiti Coalition, six major complaints bordering
on fraudulent practices were made with various documents attached.
“Also, on March 11, 2016, a petition on
the misappropriation of N852.9m fund belonging to the Ekiti State
Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) was received by the ICPC. The
petition, which had various documents attached was written by an Abuja
based group; Vanguard for Credible Representation.
“One of the documents attached to this
petition was Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) letter dated
April 16, 2015, with Reference Number; UBEC/FA/SUBEB/EK/183/Vol.II/162
in which the withdrawal of the sum of N852, 936,713.92 counterpart fund
belonging to the Ekiti SUBEB by Fayemi and others was described as a
criminal act, that violated Section 11(2) of UBE Act 2004. It was also
on the basis of this financial crime that UBEC suspended Ekiti State
from accessing any further FGN-UBE Intervention Fund.
“In another letter written on September
11, 2015, with Ref. No. PB/894/5, to the EFCC, which was acknowledge
urging the commission to investigate all the various petitions submitted
to it on the fraudulent acts perpetrated by the immediate past APC
government in the State has not seen the light of the day but rather,
the EFCC is running after vocal opponents of the APC like me, Ayodele
Fayose.
“I wish to state unequivocally, that no
amount of intimidation, harassment, investigation, coercion, will make
me stop speaking on behalf of the common who freely gave their mandate
to the APC, who are now daily failing them.
“Furthermore, it is on record that on
August 11, 2015, the EFCC came up with an investigation report on the
bribery allegation against Yobe State Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Habu Hinna
Zarma.
“In its own report, the EFCC said N15
million was indeed deposited into the INEC REC Diamond Bank Plc (account
number 0029126751) and Zenith Bank Plc (account number 1001127288) by
the Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, Assistant
Superintendent of Police, Zakari Deba and one Bamaaji Mohammed Kukawa.
“Despite that as at April 8, 2015 that
the N8 million was lodged into the INEC REC Diamond Bank account, only
N28, 143.60 was in the account and the REC personally cashed N600, 000
on April 9, 2015, the EFCC only recommended the duo of ASP Zakari Deba
(Yobe State Governor’s ADC) and Bamaaji Mohammed Kukawa for prosecution.
“It will however interest Nigerians that
10 months after, those that EFCC by its own investigations, recommended
for prosecution are yet to be charged to court!.. isn’t this
interesting?
“Nigerians must therefore begin to ask
the EFCC why it has refused to act on petitions against APC members. Why
is EFCC only interested in how PDP funded its elections? Was the fund
used for President Buhari’s election gotten from the spirit world? Is
EFCC now for persecution of PDP members? Must everyone that is not in
the APC be subject of EFCC harassment?
“Can Nigerians forget in a jiffy the
activities of most people in the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari
who ran their states aground in an effort to funding president Muhammadu
Buhari election.
“Please, can we ask the current
government, who paid for all the chartered aircrafts used for the
campaign, the payment for all logistics for the campaign?
“It is now obvious that the current government is all out to move against and silence all voices in the opposition.
“We have examples in the detention of
Femi Fani-Kayode, the persecution of Olisa Metuh the immediate past
National Publicity Secretary of the PDP.
“Nigerians should also be reminded of
the way and manner EFCC was ran when its present Chairman, Ibrahim Magu
was the Head of Economic Governance Unit during the tenure of Mallam
Nuhu Ribadu. It was then that impeachment of governors was plotted,
hatched and executed within the four walls of the EFCC.
“It is worthy of note that I was among
the governors whose illegal impeachment was orchestrated by the EFCC
with the active connivance of Magu and the Ekiti SAN self acclaimed
human right activists who is once again the coordinator of the current
conspiracy against my person.
“I was unjustly arrested, humiliated and
incarcerated for 50 days both in EFCC cell and Ikoyi Prison over
allegations of phoney poultry allegation that they could not prove in
the law court at the long run as I was discharged and acquited.
“I just want to alert all Nigerians that
they are at it again, but they will not succeed and I will not
surrender nor lose my voice as a result of their harassment.
“I make bold to state that in the
overall interest of democracy and well-being of Nigerians, I will
continue to speak my mind on issues bordering on governance in Nigeria
and I will not be intimidated!
“I have not heard in the history of election anywhere in the world where elections are conducted without funding.
“I wish to state that there was no
government funding of my election, as my election was funded purely by
the private sector and organised donations within and outside the party.
“The Buhari led administration should
also be gracious enough to prove to all Nigerians that their election
was not funded by public funds that has been linked to them, but which
the EFCC is looking away.
“The current government should be mindful that what goes round comes round.
“Those who are presently in charge of
the Federal Government should be mindful of the fact that we all own
Nigeria together and all Nigerians cannot belong to the APC.
“As a government, we have been
transparent in the running of Ekiti State, and for this, Ekiti State was
rated as the Most Transparent State in Nigeria in terms of transparency
in budgeting by Civil Resources Development Documentation Centre
(CIRDDOC) in conjunction with the British Department for International
Development (DFID).
“Nigeria has gotten to a level where
those of us holding powers should operate beyond politics and corruption
fight should not be only about those who are not on the same page with
the federal government.
“Rather, it should be inclusive of
everyone, irrespective of political affiliation and must be done in
accordance with the rule of law.”
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