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Tag: Fayose

  • Fayose, Wike used Jonathan to distrupt PDP’s reconcilliatory moves – Sheriff

    Fayose, Wike used Jonathan to distrupt PDP’s reconcilliatory moves – Sheriff

    The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party took a new dimension on Thursday when its National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, accused the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyeson Wike, and his Ekiti State counterpart, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, of recruiting former President Goodluck Jonathan to scuttle the party’s peace process.

    He alleged that the two governors gave the former President the task of scuttling the efforts of the party’s Peace and Reconciliation Committee headed by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson.

    The former President had, on Thursday last week in Abuja, organised the party’s stakeholders’ meeting, which ended in disarray.

    Sheriff and members of his National Working Committee walked out of the meeting due to disagreements on how it should be conducted.

    However, members of the sacked National Caretaker Committee of the party, headed by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, and other stakeholders of the party were in attendance.

    The Makarfi committee, which was sacked by the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, has however taken its case to the Supreme Court.

    Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Sheriff, who spoke through his deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, said Jonathan was lured into committing a serious breach of protocol that led to the failure of the exercise which was the intended outcome.

    He said, “It was a thing of joy for the party faithful as they jubilated that indeed peace has returned to the party.

    “But to the surprise of all, Wike and Fayose recruited the former President Goodluck Jonathan into a fake peace effort predetermined to scuttle Governor Dickson’s efforts.

    “The result is that President Jonathan was lured into committing a serious breach of protocol that led to the failure of the exercise, which was the intended outcome.”

    Sheriff also alleged that Wike sponsored the meeting (with Jonathan) with the sum of N50m.

    He said, “The allegation that Wike spent a whopping N50m to host the last failed meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan is neither palatable nor is it acceptable.”

    Sheriff further alleged that the governor had spent several millions in relation to the PDP case at the Supreme Court.

    He said, “It is said that Wike paid $1m for legal fees to Markarfi’s attorneys in the ongoing Supreme Court matter and has disbursed $5m to unknown persons in relation to the Supreme Court case.

    “He has been boasting that he bought his governorship Supreme Court judgment through someone (name withheld) in Suit No PHC/810/2016.”

    The party chairman expressed concern with what he described as “needless spending” by Wike.

    He added, “The party is worried that the amount of money Wike is spending needlessly is worrisome and a measure of unbridled profligacy intended to further smear the good image of the party.

    “This money belongs to the people of Rivers State and it should not be misappropriated at the expense of the people to whom it rightfully belongs.

    “Anybody partaking in the misuse of Rivers State money should be fully aware that it is blood money. We therefore call on party leaders and Nigerians to refrain from accepting these monies from Governor Wike in line with the spirit of our founding fathers.”

    Sheriff nevertheless announced that the party’s National Executive Council meeting would hold on May 3, in Abuja.

    But Jonathan denied collecting money from anyone to host the botched meeting.

    The former President, who spoke through his media aide, Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, said that there was no reason for anybody to accuse him of collecting money from anybody to organise a stakeholders’ meeting.

    The ex-President stated, “The former President intervened in the crisis because of his genuine commitment to bring about peace in the party that made him President. I don’t think anybody will believe that he collected money from anybody to organise the meeting.

    “It is out of his genuine concern to bring peace to the party. He has been meeting with members of the party; he met with Sheriff several times, he also met with Makarfi several times. He met with the governors.

    “I don’t see any reason for anybody to say that Jonathan collected money from anybody to organise the stakeholders’ conference.”

    In his own reaction, Fayose said Sheriff was doing the bidding of his paymasters in the All Progressives Congress.

    Fayose spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka.

    “If Ali Modu Sheriff has taken his desperation to serve his paymasters in the APC to the level of accusing former President Goodluck Jonathan of being bribed to organise a peace meeting for the PDP, there is no reason for any sane mind to continue to respond to the continuous advertisement of his (Sheriff) political insanity,” he added.

  • Obasanjo sleeps with corruption, says Fayose

    Obasanjo sleeps with corruption, says Fayose

    Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has told former President Olusegun Obasanjo to desist from accusing people of corruption in Nigeria.

    He declared that “Obasanjo that I know does not have morals rights to accuse anyone of corruption because he eats and sleeps with corruption.”

    Governor Fayose, who described the former President’s claim that some church leaders in the country were not only encouraging corruption but also celebrating people with questionable sources of wealth as hypocritical, said, “If anyone must accuse the church in Nigeria of promoting corruption, that person cannot be Obasanjo because he presided over the most corrupt government in the history of Nigeria.”

    Obasanjo had on Saturday accused the church of aiding corruption while speaking in Abeokuta, Ogun State, at the 2017 Convention Lecture of Victory Life Bible Church International on the theme, ‘The role of the church in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.’

    In a statement issued on Sunday, by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose asked, “Where did Obasanjo get the stupendous wealth he is parading since he was a pauper before he became president? Where did he get the trillions of naira that he deployed to his failed third term bid “How can Obasanjo, under whose tenure Nigeria witnessed Halliburton scandal be sermonising about corruption?”

    He said it was during Obasanjo’s reign as president that governors were made to donate N10 million each to the building of his library, adding, “Isn’t compelling State Governors to make donations to the personal project of a serving president part of corruption?”

    Maintaining that Obasanjo was the father of corruption in the present day Nigeria, Governor Fayose asked, “Who introduced politics of Ghana-must-go bags to the National Assembly?

    “Who was the president when sacks of money were displayed on the floor of the House of Representatives, as bribe money given to some Reps members to impeach the then Speaker, Ghali N’abba?

    “Under whose administration was the out-of-court settlement in the ‎controversial $1.09 billion Malabu Oil Block initiated in 2006?”

  • ‘You are free to leave PDP’, Sheriff tells Fayose, Wike

    The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has said Governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers and his Ekiti counterpart, Ayodele Fayose are free to leave the party if they chose to.

    “Sheriff said he was ready to move the party forward without funding it with what he called “stolen money from the governors.” Punch reports

    Sheriff, who said this on Saturday through his deputy, Cairo Ojougboh, stated that the party would not defend any of the governors when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission came after them on how they spent state money while in office.

    Recall that on Thursday, Sheriff and members of his team walked out of a reconciliatory meeting called by former President Goodluck Jonathan over disagreements on how the meeting should be conducted.

    At the meeting, Sheriff had insisted that he would preside over, deliberations, a position Wike and Fayose with, saying Jonathan should preside since it was a reconciliatory and not a party meeting.

    Sheriff on Saturday said the party belonged to the people so he will not be seeking for funds from the governors.

    Ojougboh said, “We are moving on with the determination to reposition the party. We are not interested in the funding of the party from the governors. They are free to leave if they want to, especially Wike and Fayose.

    “We are also not interested in their money. The party belongs to the people, they will finance it. So, if the governors want to withhold money from the party, they are free. We don’t receive stolen money. They have not been funding us and we are surviving.”

    He said the PDP was already planning a nationwide campaign, beginning from the South-East.

    “We are starting with Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu and Abia states, and then we will move to Cross River State. The party belongs to the people and not to governors who will want to steal people’s money,” he added.

    Attempts made to get Fayose’s reaction proved abortive as his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, refused to speak on the matter.

  • Mosques demolition: ‘Fayose, a Christian dictator, fanatic chief executive’ – MURIC

    Mosques demolition: ‘Fayose, a Christian dictator, fanatic chief executive’ – MURIC

    Sequel to his proposed demolition of some mosques in the state, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has described Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State as a ‘Christian dictator and fanatic chief executive’.

    MURIC also admonished its members in the state in visit Fayose in Kirikiri Prison when his tenure ends and is made to account for his ‘abuse of power while in office’.

     

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Ekiti Government had explained that the mosques were not in right locations and claimed that worshippers could contract cancer from the radioactive emission from the petrol stations around.

    But Ishaq Akintola, director of MURIC, in a statement faulted the reason, insisting that Fayose hated Muslims.

    “It is an act of aggression against the peace-loving and law-abiding Muslims of the state,” he said in a statement.

    “The state government’s excuse of exposure to cancer is lame, infantile, laughable and untenable. What of hundreds of petrol attendants who have been serving in petrol stations in Ekiti state since its inception on October 1 1996?

    “How many of them have had cases of cancer? How many petrol attendants in the whole of Nigeria have been exposed to radioactive emissions? Can the claim be certified by the World Health Organisation? Fayose’s public health adviser must be from hell!

    “Fayose’s power is ephemeral. He will soon become an ‘ex-this and ex-that’. We urge the Imams in Ekiti to magnanimously visit Fayose in Kirikiri after his tenure as governor when he eventually starts to account for his abuse of power while in office.”

    The group also accused Fayose of bias, alleging that he excluded Muslims from his cabinet.

    “His antecedents bear vehement testimonies to his pathological hatred for Muslims and their religion,” Akintola said.

    “It will be recalled that Fayose formed an all-Christian government after assumption of office in 2015. His deputy governor, secretary to the state government, all 14 commissioners, all 26 permanent secretaries are Christians.

    “His open bigotry and untethered hatred for Muslims makes him the governor with the worst record of Christian-Muslim relations in the whole wide world”‎, he said.

    Akintola also claimed his attempts to meet with Fayose to discuss pressing issues proved abortive.

    “Drunk with absolute power which corrupts absolutely, Fayose has rebuffed the request of leaders of the Ekiti Muslim community to meet him over the mosques marked for demolition,” he said.

    “Consequently, the Muslim leaders have suspended today’s Jum’ah prayer in all the four mosques affected. Thus Fayose will be remembered as the Christian dictator and fanatical chief executive who stopped Muslims of Ekiti State from worshipping their Creator.

    “Muslims may be left with no option than to make Ekiti ungovernable for Fayose if he goes ahead to demolish those mosques. Freedom of worship is enshrined in Nigeria’s constitution and civil disobedience is the inalienable right of a persecuted people.

    “Those who make it impossible for us to worship freely are guilty of a crime. Every patriotic citizen has the obligation to disobey illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional orders. We will resist this oppression if the system will do nothing about it.

    “Already, Muslims in the state embarked on a peaceful demonstration two days ago. We haven’t seen anything yet. We should do everything possible to prevent this crisis from snowballing into a national mayhem. Those who know Fayose’s first name should call him to order now”, he added.

     

  • 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”.

     

  • I will be Vice, President of Nigeria soon – Fayose declares

    Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Governors Forum and Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has said he will soon emerge as Vice President and subsequently as President of Nigeria.

    Fayose revealed this on Monday during a live interview on African Independent Television, AIT.

    In his words: “It is not by power. It is destiny. I did not believe it when I became Ekiti governor after eight years of leaving office.

    “I will be the vice president of Nigeria, even the President very soon.”

    The governor also took time out to criticize the recently installed chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff.

    Speaking further, the Governor criticized the embattled national chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, Ali Modu Sheriff.

    “He is a general without an army. If democracy is about people and party politics is about people, tell Senator Ali Modu Sheriff to bring out the people behind him.

    “You will see all the senators at our own meetings, who are those behind Sheriff?

    “When holding a press conference, they will use camera to control them like this, just about three of them,” Fayose said.

  • Makarfi remains PDP chairman, Judiciary cannot dictate for us – Fayose

    The Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Governors Forum and Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has said Senator Ahmed Makarfi remains the authentic chairman of the party regardless of Friday’s Appeal Court ruling.

    Fayose said this at the stakeholders meeting convened by the Ahmed Makarfi led faction of the party.

    He also warned the Nigeria Police Force, NPF and other sister security agencies to stop disrupting venues of the party events to avoid unrest in the country.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that following the judgement of the Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt on Friday declaring Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff as the recognized chairman of the party, the Makarfi led faction convened a stakeholders meeting scheduled to hold on Monday (today) at the International Conference Centre, ICC in Abuja but the venue was barricaded by officials of the Nigeria Police Force before party leaders could get there.

    The meeting was however reconvened to hold at the lodge of the Ekiti State governor in Abuja.

    Fayose said he warned Nigerians against voting in the All Progressives Congress, APC but was tagged as a bad person because he always speaks the truth.

    “I warned Nigerians against voting in President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC candidates in general but they didn’t listen. They called me all sorts of names but I am not bothered. I will keep saying my mind and nobody can intimidate me. Now that they have voted in the APC, look at what they have turned our beloved nation to within a space of just two years. It is really unfortunate but we still on ground to win back the presidency come 2019″.

    Fayose also said despite torrents of phone calls he had received to settle with the Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff faction, the Makarfi faction of the party will contest the Appeal Court ruling at the Supreme Court.

    Also speaking, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State advised party members not to be discouraged by what is happening in the country. He said despite intimidations, the party should be resolute in its pursuit of good governance to the people. He said that the PDP is on ground to win elections in virtually all the states of the federation as Nigerians have learnt their lessons from the 2015 elections.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Governors Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti State), Nyesom Wike (Rivers State), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa State) all made it to the meeting. The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, former Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, Senator Ben Obi, Chief Bode George, and other important party chieftains made it to the stakeholders meeting.

  • Stop visiting Buhari, he needs rest, Fayose tells politicians

    Stop visiting Buhari, he needs rest, Fayose tells politicians

    Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has said politicians visiting President Muhammadu Buhari in London should desist from the act and allow the president to attend to his health issues.

    Fayose also said he remained a committed member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP loyal to Ahmed Makarfi-led faction despite the Court of Appeal judgment declaring Alimodu Sheriff as the National Chairman.

    Fayose revealed this on Saturday in a monitored programme aired simultaneously on Ekiti owned television and radio stations.

    In his words: “We are not going anywhere. The matter has been appealed. In elections, three things are important: party, candidate and people. We have the people. The power of the people is greater than the machinations of the people working against us.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Fayose, while praying for sound health for the president, said his desire for a better Nigeria accounted for why he had been criticising the Federal Government when things were not done the right way.

    ‎He explained that he had stopped criticising the president since he travelled abroad for medical attention because anyone could fall sick and the president should be allowed to enjoy his rest.

    “I don’t have any problem with the president; the only problem I have is with his handlers. They will say something today and say another tomorrow. Anybody can fall sick.

    “I have not been criticising the president because he is sick. When he comes back and he is not doing the right thing, we will continue to criticise him,” he said.

    Describing the visits by some All Progressives Congress, APC chieftains to the president as a make-belief and too much of eye service, the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum said it would not have been necessary if the people knew the truth from the onset.

    The governor spoke further: “It is God that gives power to whoever He wills. As humans, we can fall sick. But people should allow him to rest.

    “Some people are visiting him to convince people that he is well; that is a make-belief and too much of eye-service.”

    “So many women are in pains today because some husbands had become terrors at home. We must consciously promote women, show love to them and assist them.”

  • A’Court Judgement: Makarfi remains chairman until S’Court decides – Fayose

     

    Following the reinstatement by the Appeal Court on Friday of Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff as Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum and Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has said he remains loyal to the Ahmed Makarfi Caretaker Committee until the Supreme Court states otherwise.

    Fayose said this in a statement released in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday.

    According to the governor, the Makarfi faction had already appealed the Appeal Court’s ruling, adding that “when we got the judgement at the lower court, affirming the Caretaker Committee, Sheriff was still parading himself as the chairman.”

    Fayose also spoke about the 2018 governorship elections and the apprehension among some people whether he would lose or win.

    He said: “I’m aware that some people are apprehensive of 2018 but I want to say it here that they should worry not. What I know that will happen tomorrow is that I will get to greater heights.

    “There are three major important factors in elections, the people is number one, followed by the party and the candidate. You can have a party and candidate, if you don’t have the people, you will fail because the power of the people is greater than the power of those of us in power.

    “Here in Ekiti, we have the people. I am saying it here that we are under the leadership of the Ahmed Makarfi led Caretaker Committee.

    “When we got the judgement at the lower court, affirming the Caretaker Committee, Sheriff was still parading himself as the chairman. This time around too, we have appealed the Appeal Court judgement and as such, Makarfi remains our chairman until the Supreme court decides.”

     

  • I will make Fayose, Wike irrelevant in PDP, says Sheriff

    The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s National Chairman, Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff says he will shut out Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and the Rivers State Governor, Nyensom Wike from the party.

    Recall that TheNewsGuru.com published a story on an Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Thursday, which held that Sheriff remains the authentic Chairman of the PDP.

    Reacting to the judgment, Senator Sheriff, vowed to put in place a machinery that would not give room to people like Wike and Fayose in any future arrangement in the party.

    The former Borno State Governor told reporters, “I will engineer a restructuring of PDP such that characters like Wike and Fayose cannot find a way through to attain any position of prominence in our party in the future.

    “They have brought shame and agony through the application of their crude and godless politics which is at variance with the principles upon which our founding fathers built our great party.

    “We must find a way to sieve things so that only men of character and integrity can come through for positions of responsibility at all levels of our political engagement in the country.

    “We must urgently steer the ship of PDP clear of the path of infamy which Wike and Fayose has brought our party, making Nigerians to mistaken PDP as a training ground for thugs. That is the urgent task we have. We cannot continue to advertise thug brand and expect Nigerians to take us seriously.”