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Tag: Fayose

  • June 12: Fayose declares Monday public holiday

    June 12: Fayose declares Monday public holiday

    Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has declared Monday a public holiday in honour of the winner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential Election, the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola.

    Ogun, Ondo and Oyo states had earlier declared Monday a public holiday in commemoration of the 24th anniversary of the day.

    In a statement issued on Sunday in Ado Ekiti, Fayose – a member of the Peoples Democratic Party – said he took the decision to join his other colleagues in the South West in the spirit of the unity of the region.

    He said, “Yoruba nation’s interest is beyond personal interest of anyone. For us to forge ahead as a people, we must speak with one voice.

    “In the light of this, I declare Monday a public holiday to further strengthen our collective belief, hope and aspirations. This, I have done in the spirit of Yoruba nation and South West integration.”

    The late Bashorun Moshood Abiola won the election. However, his victory was annulled by the then military Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd.).

    Abiola was later incarcerated by the military junta of the late General Sanni Abacha.

    The day is celebrated in recognition and honour of the martyrdom of Abiola, who died in a mysterious circumstance while in incarceration a few days after the death of Abacha.

  • Only cursed men beat their wives – Fayose

    Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has said men who physically abuse their wives are living a cursed life.

    He stated this during an interactive session with Primary School teachers and local government workers in Ado-Ekiti on Friday.

    A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, read: “Those who beat up their wives are only bringing curses on their heads. A woman is a reflection of her husband and how her husband treats her. They are delicate and must be treated as such.

    “Our administration has been consistent in implementing policies and programmes that are designed to make life better for them.

    “Any good done to a woman is done to the whole family. We must accord them their due respect,” he said.

  • Monarchs, residents protest Fayose’s proposed demolition of ‘sacred tree’

    Monarchs, residents and other stakeholders in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State on Monday resisted Governor Ayodele Fayose’s attempt to demolish a sacred tree located in a historical site in the community to pave way for a road dualization project.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that an attempt on Monday by government agents and the contractor handling the project to remove the tree was thwarted by the youths and traditionalists.

    The youths went on rampage, held up traffic and lit bonfires at Odo-Oja area of the town. Fayose reportedly led armed policemen and operatives of the state security outfit, “Operation Flush” in the heat of the crisis.

    The indigenes claim that the historical site known locally as the “Ereja” was the source of Ikere and was the place where the town was established and and removing the tree was a bad omen. They claimed it is also the location where the annual Olosunta Festival is celebrated.

    The residents had placed sacrifices made with a goat and pigeon and other fetish objects at the site while palm fronds were also tied around the shrine.

    Angry residents had since formed a human shield round the shrine in a bid to frustrate any plan to demolish the site and uproot the sacred tree.

    Addressing reporters at his palace on Tuesday, the Olukere of Ikere, Oba Ganiyu Ayodele Obasoyin, said, “cutting down the sacred tree and demolishing the Ereja was akin to passing a death sentence on him (Olukere).” The Olukere was joined at his palace by the Alare of Are-Ikere, Oba Oguntuase Atitebi and the Elejoka of Ikuomoba-Ikere, Chief Benjamin Owolade both of whom claimed that he (Olukere) is the head of the community.

    The monarch said: “Yesterday (Monday), the governor led the Police to Ikere that the shrine be bulldozed; it is when a king dies that the branches of the tree are cut off and I went to meet the governor that he should not pass a death sentence on me.

    “I want to say that Fayose wants to kill me; by ordering that the tree which represents my life be uprooted and the people resisted him.

    My subjects said they don’t want a tenant that will be making life difficult for the owner of the land because I am the owner of Ikere.

    “The Ereja is where Ikere people meet once in every year, if that tree is removed, it means they have killed the Olukere. The people came out yesterday (Monday) that they don’t want their king to be killed.

    “This is the tradition here, the tree branches are cut if the Oba dies. In every community, we have traditional heritage and cultural heritage and nobody can kill our cultural heritage.

    “The only way forward is that government should see reason with the people of Ikere and respect the people’s cultural heritage. If there
    is no town, you cannot be governor over people.

    “They have that type of tree in Afao-Ikere, it was preserved for them and was not cut for road project. The expatriate contractor said the sacred tree at Ereja does not hinder the construction work.”

    The Olukere who quoted from the 1933 Intelligence Report said his throne was the first in Ikere and should be accorded due honour, respect and recognition by the state government.

    He added that the 16 most senior monarchs in the State Council of Obas visited his palace in February on a fact-finding visit to historical monuments and artefacts which confirmed his kingship.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the state government is however yet to issue any official communication as regards the resistance by residents to demolish the ‘sacred tree’.

  • Buhari running government of terror, says Fayose

    Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of running a government of terror.

    According to Fayose, Buhari is going after Igbo leaders in the opposition by scheming to silence them through harassment and intimidation.

    He said the presidency, in doing that, had turned enforcement agencies like the police and Department of State Services into state machinery designed to terrorise the opposition at all cost.

    The governor said this in reaction to the reported raid conducted on the home of the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, by security agencies.

    Fayose said, “This is a calculated and sustained attempt to silence all Igbo leaders that are not in the All Progressives Congress with Buhari ahead of the 2019 general elections because he knows it (South-East) is a no-go area for his party.

    “They have gone from the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to the Chairman of Capital Oil, Ifeanyi Ubah and now the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu. This is muzzling of democracy and it is time we saved our nation from the hands of the terrorists.

    “Obviously, it is too early to rate this government that has turned to government of terror using DSS and police as agents of terror. This certainly is not the change we bargained for. We have lost this democracy to military junta of the past masquerading as democrats and we must rise as a people to defend it.

    Also speaking on the development, a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, said in a statement, “Raiding the homes of our friends and leaders like Ekweremadu and harassing their children will not deter, stop or silence those of us that are in the opposition.

    “It will only harden our hearts and strengthen our resolve. As each day goes by, more and more people have come to accept the fact that the Buhari administration is a government of fascists.”

  • Fayose expresses shock as first Ekiti gov, Bawa dies at 67

    The first military administrator of Ekiti State, Colonel Inuwa Bawa (rtd), has died.

    Col. Bawa was said to have died in a hospital in Jos, the Plateau State capital on Friday.

    Reacting to the death, Governor Ayodele Fayose, described the death as “shocking and a great loss to the people of the state who are appreciative of the pioneering role he played in the state.”

    Fayose, who reacted through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, said “his death came at a time we just finished mourning late General Adeyinka Adebayo.”

    Fayose said Bawa came to Ekiti at a time Ekiti needed a man like him for take off and despite the odds he met on ground as the first Military Administrator, he practically squeezed water out of stone to lay a solid foundation for the state.

    “The late Colonel Inuwa Bawa braved the odds as the pioneer governor of our dear state to lay a very solid foundation on which others have been building. It is an understatement to say he worked assiduously for the progress of our state, he did work tirelessly for our state and its take off.

    “Despite the hitches associated with someone pioneering the take off of a state, he was able to harness the human resources of the state to give the people the encouragement and motivation needed for the sustenance of the state.”

    “Bawa’s astute leadership qualities did not allow the efforts of our fathers who fought for the creation of the state to be in vain. Every Ekiti son and daughter will remember Bawa for his efforts and giant strides given the limited material resources available to him and his team.

    “We pray God to give the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss and we, the people and government of Ekiti State identify with them in this period that they have lost a fine gentleman and military officer,” he said.

     

  • Fayose’s re-election bid, effort in futility – Falana

    Vocal human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has said the courts will not endorse the re-election bid of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State after exhausting his two terms as governor.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Fayose ‎made the declaration on Monday, saying that he would contest the 2018 governorship election ‎to serve his first term which was truncated in 2006.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that Fayose was impeached in 2006, but the Supreme Court in 2014 nullified the impeachment that ousted him from office about seven months to the end of his first term.

    ‎However, Falana on Tuesday explained that Fayose’s bid to seek re-election would amount to tenure elongated which no court could grant.

    In his words: “Tenure extension by a governor under any disguise is anomalous. No court can prolong the tenure of a sitting governor buying the two terms prescribed by the Constitution.

    “In the case of Gov Rasheed Ladoja v INEC the appellant wanted an extension of his term of office to allow him to spend extra 11 months while he was fighting his impeachment from outside.

    “Although the Supreme Court had set aside his impeachment it was held that the relief was illegal and unconstitutional.

    “Similarly, the governors who were re-elected after their initial election was annulled, the Supreme Court made it abundantly clear that tenure extension was unknown to the Constitution.

    “In view of the settled position of the law on the matter, Governor Ayo Fayose cannot be granted by any court in Nigeria.”

  • Gov. Fayose seeking re-election in 2018 gov poll

    Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State said on Monday that he would contest in court his removal from office during his first term tenure.

    Speaking in a live broadcast on Ekiti State Television in Ado-Ekiti on Monday evening, Fayose who was explaining why he chose to put his image on a campaign posters across the state, said that since the apex court had said that his impeachment in 2006 was illegal, he would then have to approach the same court to interpret what that ruling meant and also consider seeking a re-election in 2018.

    He said, “The continuity poster you see my image in and which is spreading across the state can be interpreted in two ways. First is the need for me to ask the apex court to explain its 2014 ruling that my so called impeachment in 2014 was illegal, null and void and consider a re-election in 2018 so that I can complete my term.

    “Second is for me to get our own man, one who is like Ayo Fayose to continue after my tenure in 2018.”

    He emphasised that the case as to whether he was entitled to complete his tenure or not must first be determined before there could be another governorship election in the state in 2018.

    NAN reported that Fayose got sworn-in for the first term tenure in May 2003, but got his tenure terminated through impeachment on Oct. 16, 2006.

    Meanwhile, the governor has said that he was not bothered by the ongoing strike by fuel dealers in the state.

    He said he would not rescind his decision to stop further erection of filling stations in residential areas, even if they strike for one year.

    He said full demolition of such fuel stations, including those erected near schools would commence on Tuesday.

    Besides, he placed a ban on commercial activities in all fuel stations that were currently on strike.

  • ‘Fayose is yet to support Moji Olaiya’s burial’-Burial committee

    ‘Fayose is yet to support Moji Olaiya’s burial’-Burial committee

    Contrary to viral reports, the burial committee of late Nollywood actress, Moji Olaiya as debunked rumours circulating about Governor Fayose supporting the deceased actress’ burial ceremony.

    In a statement released by the committee , it said :“Our attention has been drawn to an Encomium Magazine publication dated 20th May, 2017 regarding the above subject matter. We will like to state as follows:

    1. It is a considered opinion of this committee to bring back the corpse of our colleague back to Nigeria for a beffitting burial and her 2months old baby to be re-united with her family.

     

    1. Late Moji Olaiya is an indegene and a Cultural Ambassador of Ekiti State. Consequently the State Government was informed and a verbal appeal for support via the Senior Media Assistant to the Governor, Mr Lere Olayinka and as at 2am on Saturday he directed the committee to make official request. THE SAID REQUEST IS YET TO BE MADE.

     

    1. At present, contrary to the news flying around THE COMMITTEE HAS NOT RECEIVED ANY FAVOURABLE RESPONSE FROM EKITI STATE GOVERNOR MR AYODELE FAYOSE.

     

    1. You will recall, prior to this time the general pubic was intimated of the composition of the committee so that friends and media can direct their queries or get accurate information from the right source.

     

    1. We strongly warn against unguarded utterances, half information and publications that may dent the image of the deceased, her family and committee planning for her smooth and decent transition.

     

    1. Thanking you in advance for your co-operation and understanding. We also sincerely appreciate several encomiums, condolences and support locally and abroad in ensuring we give Late Moji Olaiya the deserving burial”.

     

     

     

     

  • I may soon dump PDP, says Fayose

    Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, said he might dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) if the supreme court rules that Ali Modu Sherrif is the authentic chairman of the party.

    Fayose who made the statement while reacting to reports that he had removed the name and logo of the party from his campaign office situated in Ado-Ekiti.

    The apex court has fixed May 25 for hearing of the crisis in the opposition party.

    He was quoted as saying pending the outcome of the court judgement, he remains a bonafide member of the PDP.

    The PDP has been locked in crisis owing to the leadership tussle between Sheriff and Ahmed Makarfi.

    A federal high court had declared Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman of the party.

    This made the faction led by Makarfi to challenge the decision of the lower court, but Sheriff requested the apex court to disqualify the other faction from appealing the previous judgment.

    Makarfi and some members of the PDP, including Fayose, have refused to recognise Sheriff as national chairman.

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan had intervened to find a political solution to the impasse, but his peace effort fell through.

  • Fayose, legend in Nigerian politics – Shekarau

    Fayose, legend in Nigerian politics – Shekarau

    Former governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau has said Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State is fast becoming a legend in Nigerian politics with his people oriented project and policies.

    Shekarau, also a former Minister of Education under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, said the affection the governor shows to the people can be seen in the “numerous humane policies and projects Fayose is executing in the state.”

    According to a statement on Saturday by the Chief Press Secretary to Fayose, Idowu Adelusi, Shekarau spoke during a visit to Ado-Ekiti.

    Shekarau, who was taken round some projects by Fayose, said he was overwhelmed by the close relationship between Fayose and the people of Ekiti.

    He charged Nigerian leaders to emulate the Ekiti governor by identifying with their people and meeting their needs.

    His words: “I am not surprised by the great performance of Governor Ayodele Fayose in Ekiti State.

    “We were governors at the same time in 2003, though we were in different political parties, he did wonderfully well then too.

    “I am impressed by the projects being executed by the governor despite the recession in the country and the small statutory allocations coming to the state”.

    Similarly, Deputy Governor of Gombe State, Charles Yau Ilya, said he was happy at the projects and that what he saw on ground confirmed that the Ekiti governor was a true and real friend of the common man.

    “This is my first visit to Ekiti State and I have heard a lot about Governor Ayodele Fayose.

    “I am really happy that the governor is a living legend, whose love for the people of the state is duly reciprocated by the people who are showing their love for him too,” he said.