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Tag: Fayemi

  • JUST IN: Ekiti bars Fayemi, Kolawole from holding public offices

    A White Paper released by the Ekiti State Government on Monday has barred a former governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, his then Commissioner of Finance, Mr. Dapo Kolawole from holding a public office in the state for 10 years.

    The duo were barred based on the report of the Ekiti Judicial Commission of Inquiry, which indicted them over alleged mismanagement of the state’s finances between October 2010 and 2014.

    Fayemi, now a Minister of Mines and Steel Development, was the governor during the stated period.

    The report declared them “as unfit to hold any public office in the state.‎”

    However, there have been speculations across the state that the All Progressives Congress, APC, might pick Fayemi as its governorship candidate in the forth coming gubernatorial election in the state.

     

    Details coming…

  • 2019: PDP wants power just to resume stealing – Fayemi

    A former governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has said the Peoples Democratic Party is only seeking to return to power in 2019 so as to resume looting the treasury as done in the past.

    Fayemi, currently the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, also urged Nigerians not to use the current fuel scarcity to rate President Muhammadu Buhari’s performance.

    He stated this while addressing some journalists in his home town of Isan Ekiti in the Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State on Wednesday.

    He said, “What (fuel scarcity) we are witnessing is just a normal curve in the life of any administration. We will get over it and move on, but largely the President has not disappointed Nigerians.

    “What the PDP wants to come back to do is stealing. The option for Nigerians in 2019 is not to return to the old age of criminalisation and brigandage by not voting for the PDP, because there is nothing to convince Nigerians that they have changed with the shenanigans that characterised their national convention and the poor performances by their governors.

    “Up till now, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan (former President) and his henchmen have not apologised about how they ran the country aground. So, there is nothing to suggest that the PDP remains a credible alternative to the APC in 2019.”

    Fayemi said the Judicial Commission of Inquiry that recently indicted him was raised by Governor Ayodele Fayose to smear his reputation and make him unpopular.

    He said, “Fayose’s stock in trade is lying against someone to score political gains. They started with the probe of N852m UBEC fund and when they knew they could not go far, they started concocting lies and said I looted N17bn.

    “Let us wait and see who will go to jail between Fayose and I. I have been out of office and I am still moving free, but I am sure he won’t be able to walk free on the streets after losing immunity because of the way he had run the state aground.”

    Fayemi, who did not make any categorical statement on whether he was nursing a governorship ambition or not, said the APC would ensure it wins the state governorship poll in 2018.

    The minister boasted that he had used his office to bring many benefits to the state.

     

    He added, “This government has begun the construction of a federal secretariat and housing estate in Ekiti and the rail-line was extended to this state in the Federal Government’s proposal due to my intervention.”

    “No fewer than 4,000 Ekiti indigenes are benefitting from N-power and very soon, it will go up to 12,000. The proposal for kaolin exploration in Ekiti has just been completed; that of the bauxite will begin soon.

    “President Buhari’s government is planning to set up a cottage industry in Ekiti for the sake of the solid minerals exploration and I have enlisted small scale miners around Ijero Ekiti for them to be able to benefit from the N5bn loan set up by the Bank of Industry.”

     

  • My client won’t appear before you – Fayemi’s lawyer tells Ekiti probe panel

    Former Governor of Ekiti State and Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi will not appear before the Judicial Commission of Enquiry investigating the management of the state’s finances under his watch, his lawyer, Chief Rafiu Balogun, has said.

    During the panel’s sitting on Wednesday, Balogun said he was entering a “conditional appearance” of “appearance in protest” for his client.

    The lawyer said Fayemi got the panel’s summons but would not appear because of circumstances that predated the constitution of the panel.

    He applied to make an oral application, but the panel’s Chairman, Justice Silas Oyewole, advised him to make a formal application, in line with rules of the commission.

    The panel ordered Balogun to file an application excusing the former governor from appearing next Monday.

    But it ordered a Commissioner for Finance during the Fayemi administration, Mr. Dapo Kolawole, to appear before it on September 11.

    This followed Balogun’s prayer for an adjournment for Kolawole, who was summoned to give evidence on Wednesday.

    Counsel to the panel Mr. Sunday Bamise claimed a lawyer, Mr. Ibrahim Olanrewaju, got the summons on behalf of Kolawole, but another lawyer, Adeoye Aribasoye, debunked the claim.

    Aribasoye argued that he, Olanrewaju and Mr. Tajudeen Akingbolu announced appearances as “observers” at the panel’s last sitting but did not appear for Fayemi and Kolawole or ever got processes on their behalf.

    Justice Oyewole said the record before the panel showed Olanrewaju signed to receive the summons on Kolawole’s behalf, which Aribasoye may be aware of.

    The chairman said the panel was on a “fact-finding mission and not raised to crucify anybody”.

    Aribasoye added that the ex-commissioner was not properly served.

    Other parties at yesterday’s sitting were CASA Nigeria Limited, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Jichengi Yuyan Limited and officials of Ministry of Works and Transportation.

  • Jonathan, Okojo-Iweala, CJN, Fayemi, Fayose, others under EFCC’s probe

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has listed Former President, Goodluck Jonathan;the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen; Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State; his predecessor and the current Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; and the immediate past Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, among high-profile personalities currently under its investigation.

    “The names are contained in the list of high-profile cases involving over 100 politically-exposed persons and top-ranking public officers still being investigated by the EFCC as of August 2017″ The PUNCH said it reliably learnt on Monday.”

    The list was recently sent by the anti-graft agency to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), based on request.

    “The list was actually sent in August to the then Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and copied the AGF,” another EFCC source said on Tuesday.

    The list, sighted earlier on Monday, listed 106 cases under investigation and several others pending in court but either stalled or moving slowly.

    It did not disclose the details of the cases under investigation.

    It however stated the date each of the over 100 cases was “referred”, the challenges being encountered in the investigation and the source of information leading to the commencement of the probe.

    Sources of such information for the cases were listed against each of the cases.

    They include intelligence, whistle-blowers and petitions from government agencies and private citizens.

    Among other notable names on the list are the incumbent Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, and his predecessor, Captain Idris Wada.

    Other former governors on the list include Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, who is currently the Senate’s Minority Leader; Jonah Jang of Plateau State, currently serving as Senator representing Plateau North; Ali Modu Sherriff of Borno State, who recently had a controversial stint as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party; and Chief Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State.

    Also listed are the names of Dame Patience Jonathan, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan; and some ministers who served under the Jonathan administration.

    Apart from Okonjo-Iweala, former ministers on the list include the immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke; the immediate past Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN); a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Bala Mohammed; ex-Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah, who is currently the Senator representing Anambra North; and a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe.

    Alison-Madueke’s husband’s name, Rear Admiral Alison Madueke (retd.), was also listed.

    Also sighted on the list are the names of two men who simultaneously served as media aides to Jonathan – ex-Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, and a former Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe.

    Other prominent high-profile persons on the list are a former Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Abdullahi Dikko; a former acting Chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus; Col. Bello Fadile (retd.), who served under the immediate past National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki; the incoming Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Abdu Kafarati; and Justice Mohammed Tsamiya, who was recently retired compulsorily by the National Judicial Council.

    The EFCC stated in the document that it was investigating the CJN based on intelligence referred to it on October 12, 2016. The document indicated that the commission was investigating Okonjo-Iweala based on a petition referred to it on January 28, 2016.

  • News Hour 03-08-2017 I TNGtv

    News Hour 03-08-2017 I TNGtv

  • News Hour 25-07-2017 I TNGtv

  • Alleged N852bn scam: Court rejects Fayemi’s request to stop Ekiti Govt probe panel

    An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti, has refused an application filed by former Governor Kayode Fayemi seeking an interim order to restrain the Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up by Ekiti State Government to probe his administration.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Fayemi, now the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, was Ekiti State governor between 2010 and October 2014.

    The interim application sought to restrain the commission from further sitting pending hearing and determination of the substantive motion for injunction.

    The commission was in compliance with the resolution of the Ekiti State House of Assembly passed on May 10, 2017, pursuant to Section 2 of the Ekiti State Commission of Enquiry Law Cap C10 Laws of Ekiti State 2012.

    The defendants are Governor Ayodele Fayose, the state Attorney General, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Justice Silas Oyewole retrd. (panel chairman), Mr. Gbemiga Adaramola (panel secretary).

    Others are members of the panel: Mrs. Bolawale Awe, Mr. Idowu Ayenimo, Mr. Omodara Vincent, Mr. Adesoba Oluremi and Mr. Sunday Bamise.

    The defendants had filed a Notice of Preliminary Objection challenging the competence of the court to hear the matter.

    Ruling on Tuesday, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye held that Fayemi’s request for an interim order could not be granted because of the notice of preliminary injunction filed by the defendants, which must first be determined before any order could be granted in the matter.

    “It, therefore, means that this court must decide first on the Notice of Preliminary Objection filed by the defendants because a challenge to the competence of a suit raises the issue of jurisdiction to hear and determine same, for the competence of a suit is an ingredient of jurisdiction.

    “I therefore do not believe that I have the power to grant an application for interim injunction pending the determination of the preliminary objection before me.

    “Consequently, I am unable in the circumstance to grant the prayer of the applicants.”

    However, the court granted Fayemi’s prayer for an accelerated hearing, saying that the substantive suit would now be heard together with the defendant’s preliminary objection.

    “The justice of the matter, however, would dictate that the matter be given accelerated hearing.

    “The grant or refusal of an application is within the discretionary powers of the court. An exercise of discretion must, however, be based on accepted and recognised principles and, of course, relevant law. In all, the application is hereby refused,” the judge ruled.

    He consequently adjourned the suit to July 31 for definite hearing.

    Fayemi’s counsel, Chief Rafiu Balogun, said the court was fair to both parties in granting defendant’s prayer that the application for interim injunction be refused, while at the same time granting his client’s prayer for accelerated hearing of the substantive case.

    The defendants’ counsel, Daniel Alumun, said it was right for the court to consider the preliminary objection, saying the claimant can’t stop a panel established by law from working.

    In the suit with number HAD/57/2017, Fayemi asked the court to restrain the governor, the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and the members of the judicial commission from taking any step on the probe as a result of two pending cases.

    Fayemi also sought a declaration that the motion and subsequent resolution of the Ekiti State House of Assembly directing the governor (first defendant) to set up a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate or probe his administration are unlawful, illegal and ought to be declared null and void.

    He stated that the resolution was passed during the pendency of a case involving him, the Assembly and its Speaker, which touched on the legality of the summons and powers of the Assembly to conduct any investigation or direct any other person or body to do so without strict compliance with the tenets of the 1999 Constitution.

     

  • Alleged N852bn scam: Fayemi has no moral standing to be Minister – Ekiti Assembly

    …orders Gov. Fayose to set up Judicial Panel to probe his administration

    Sequel to the alleged discrepancies in the finances of the Ekiti State under the immediate past Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, the State House of Assembly on Thursday said the former governor has no moral standing to remain as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    The House therefore ordered the executive governor of the state, Ayodele Fayose to set up Judicial or Administrative Panel to probe the administration of Fayemi as governor of the state.

    The Assembly said the step became imperative sequel to Fayemi’s refusal to appear before the House to shed light on the alleged diversion of N852 billion Universal Basic Education Board’s fund during his time.

    Relying on Section 129 0f the 1999 constitution, the Assembly had on March 22, 2016 and 7th February, 2017 ordered Fayemi to appear before it and clear his name over the foregoing allegation and many other misappropriation allegedly perpetrated during his time.

    Fayemi, however refused to appear and the former governor later approached the Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti and slammed N500 million libel suit on the Assembly , citing alleged defamation of character to justify his action.

    The House as its plenary on Thursday, presided over by the Speaker, Hon Kola Oluwawole, berated Fayemi for treating the Assembly with contempt, saying this was not expected of him as a former Governor of Ekiti State.

    After exhaustive deliberation, where Hons Samuel Omotoso, Abiola Jeje, and Ekundayo Akinleye had contributed on the need to compel the Executive to compose the panel to probe Fayemi, the Majority Leader, Hon Tunji Akinyele moved the motion for the adoption of the motion and it was seconded by Hon Jeje.

    Before putting the motion to a voice vote, the Speaker said: “Dr John Kayode Fayemi has slighted this house by his conduct by refusing to honour our invitation. This Assembly duly invited him to come and explain how he managed the finances of this state , particularly the SUBEN fund and other projects.

    “The House had summoned him three times, but he disobeyed the regulation of this house. So, the State government should as a matter of urgency set up a judicial or administrative panel of inquiry to look into the finances of this State under Fayemi’s government”, he said.

    The Chairman, House Committee on Information, Hon Omotoso slammed the Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris and other security agencies over their lukewarm dispositions to arrest Fayemi despite the valid warrant of arrest issued by the Assembly against him.

    “The IGP Can’t claim that Governor Fayemi is at large. He has been attending the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting and nobody even called him for questioning or thought of arresting him. That was unfortunate.

    “Let me at this time call on the Acting President , Prof Yemi Osinbajo that Fayemi has no moral standing to be a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria , having breached the1999 constitution by his refusal to honour us. If we fail to act now, then the country will be operating a banana republic where there re no rules”, he said.

    Honourables Jeje and Akinleye , in their submissions said the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Ayodeji Daramola to live up to expectation in composing the judicial panel to unravel the mystery behind the state’s finances under the immediate past administration.

  • Federal might won’t save you from disgrace, Ekiti people rejected you in 2014, they’ll do so again – Fayose tells Fayemi

    Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has said the good people of the state chose him over his predecessor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi in all the sixteen local councils in the state because he (Fayemi) lost touch with the people.

    Fayose also accused Fayemi of plotting a return as the State Governor through the back-door by arm-twisting the Supreme Court to review its judgment of April 14, 2015.

    Fayose revealed this while addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Monday.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the Supreme Court judgement had validated Fayose’s election in the June 21, 2014 governorship polls.

    In his words: “We are not unmindful of the allegation made by a Supreme Court Judge, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta that the Minister of Transportation and former governor of Rivers State, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi begged him to ensure that my election was set aside and another election ordered for his friend, Fayemi to contest. Curiously, that grievous allegation was ignored by the powers that be.

    “If Fayemi could try, using Amaechi to approach Supreme Court justices to procure black market judgment then, nothing stops him from trying to do same now that it is very clear that he can never achieve his ambition to be Ekiti governor once again through the votes of the people and we urge Nigerians to take note,” the governor said.

    “Having realised how difficult it will be for him to clinch APC ticket not to even talk of winning the election proper, Fayemi has opted to seek power through the backdoor.

    “Fayemi and his cohorts are even boasting that they are putting pressure on the new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen to join them in the devilish plot.

    “The question is: what unfinished business was he talking about in an election that he lost clearly? What unfinished business does Fayemi have with an election that I won fair and square, defeating him in all the 16 local governments of the state, including his home town of
    Isan-Ekiti?

    “Mind you, that June 2014 election was the second time I would be trouncing an incumbent governor, the first being in 2003 when I defeated the sitting Alliance for Democracy (AD) governor, Otunba Niyi Adebayo.

    “As I address you today, there is credible information that Fayemi has provided fund for the filing of the matter at the Supreme Court and he has assured his loyalists in the APC in Ekiti State that the Presidency and a section of the judiciary, especially the newly appointed Supreme Court justices are in total support of the plot to remove me at all cost.

    “It is however my advice that the Supreme Court and indeed the entire judiciary should be mindful of this banana peel coming from the same people who orchestrated the DSS invasion of judges residences in the night just because they refused to assist them to perpetrate
    injustice.

    “This is more so that Fayemi and his collaborators are not unaware that Order 8, Rule 16 of the Supreme Court expressly stated that the court shall not review its judgment once giving, except there was a clerical mistake or slip.

    “They are also aware of the position of the Supreme Court judgment on Andy Uba that there must be an end to litigation, a position also affirmed in the case of Prof. Steve Torkuma Ugba vs. Gabriel Torwua Suswam.

    “Most importantly, in Segun Oni vs Fayemi, he (Fayemi) was a beneficiary of the suis generis (time bound) nature of election matter and the matter becoming functus officio once judgment is delivered by the final court as provided by the Electoral Act, and sane minds should wonder what magic he intends to perform by going to the Supreme Court on an election matter already determined at the final court, if not that he may have indeed gotten the assurance of the powers that be.

    “One is therefore concerned that people who go about parading credentials as democrats will be so vicious that they won’t accept defeat, close to three years after they lost an election even in their own family house.

    “We are therefore alerting Nigerians once again of this plot coming from Fayemi and his APC people who have proven over time that they are bad losers and will never respect the will of the people.

    “The fact that I have more or less become the opposition last-man standing should not be made to become the reason an avoidable banana peel will be placed on the path of the Supreme Court and I urge our Supreme Court justices to be mindful of being rubbished by desperate politicians.

    “If they are worried about my stance on national issues, they should do things differently in the interest of Nigerians that are hungry and suffering under the yoke of bad governance of the APC.

    “However, let me state expressly that Fayemi and his collaborators will fail. They failed before, they will fail again. The harder they come against me, the harder they will fall. “Another governorship election in Ekiti is around the corner and if Fayemi is a democrat, he should prepare to contest in that election rather than continue to shop for ‘Oluwole’ and ‘Jankara’ judgment that will return him to office through the back door.

    “Fayemi and his backers in Abuja must be reminded that Ekiti people are united behind me and will fight him and his cohorts with the last blood in our veins. The power of the people is mightier than ‘Federal might’ If they dare Ekiti, they will meet their nemesis. If they do not retreat and put an end to their diabolical plots, Ekiti will be their Waterloo.

    “Finally, let me reiterate that I have an unflinching confidence that the Supreme Court will not debase itself. On the 2014 Ekiti governorship election, the apex court has spoken and it has spoken so clearly. Day-dreamers like Fayemi can continue to hallucinate. As for me and the Ekiti people, our focus is on the 2018 governorship elections”.

     

  • Honour our invitation or we’ll arrest you, Ekiti assembly tells Fayemi

    Honour our invitation or we’ll arrest you, Ekiti assembly tells Fayemi

    The Ekiti State House of Assembly has summoned a former Governor of the state and now Minister of Solid Minerals and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, to appear before it on February 7 or the Assembly will be forced to invoke Section 129 (d) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

    The House at its plenary in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, on Thursday decried what it termed the nonchalant attitude of the former governor to previous invitations and described this as unbecoming of a public figure who had also served the people.

    Section 129 (d) of the constitution empowers the Assembly to issue a warrant to compel the attendance of any person who, after being summoned, fails, refuses or neglects to do so.

    The House Leader of Business, Hon. Olatunji Akinyele, who moved the motion for the invitation of the former governor, said he should appear to shed light on the allegations of misappropriation and diversion of public funds made against him.

    The motion, seconded by Hon. Dele Fajemilehin, representing Gbonyin constituency, was thoroughly debated by members of the Assembly.

    Ekundayo Akinleye, Titilayo Owolabi-Akerele, and Dr. Samuel Omotoso spoke extensively on the need to take proactive measures in compelling the former governor to appear before the Assembly members.

    Omotoso described the court action instituted by Fayemi against him and the media aide to the state governor, Lere Olayinka, as a blackmail and remarked that he would not be deterred towards making the former governor accountable for his actions while in office.

    The Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Kola Oluwawole, decried the selective application of the anti-corruption crusade of the Federal Government and called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to immediately commence action on the petition submitted to it by the Assembly.