Governor Ayo dele Fayose, at the end of a victory procession round Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital yesterday, declared a total conquest of his political enemies with a warning that any further uprising would lead to the premature political death of such instigators.
The governor spoke upon the inauguration of a new State House of Assembly entirely composed of his associates in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The new speaker, Pastor Kola Oluwawole, himself, a former Chief of Staff to Fayose during his first advent, promptly pledged to toe a different line from the antagonism that characterised the relationship between Fayose and the immediate past House of Assembly controlled by the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Fayose who said he had forgiven the 19 former APC lawmakers who instigated the impeachment motion against him also absolved President Muhammadu Buhari of complicity in the political battles that were recently waged against him. The governor who said intelligence reports at his disposal distanced the president from his troubles was also quick to assert that the president did not wish him any ill-feelings.
The end of the governor’s troubles came on Thursday with the end of the tenure of the Fourth Ekiti State House of Assembly that was dominated with the APC which had 19 members compared to the seven members of the governor’s PDP. Supporters of the governor including commercial motorcyclists and other hangers-on had for days laid siege to the House of Assembly complex to prevent the 19 APC members from having access to the chamber. Other supporters also mounted roadblocks at strategic entry points into the state with the express determination of stopping the legislators who were allegedly based in Oshogbo, Osun State from entering the state.
Having succeeded in their aim of preventing the legislators from proceeding with their plans of impeaching the governor, the governor and his associates yesterday went on a victory procession through the streets of the state capital. Governor Fayose had called out the people of the state in a broadcast he made on Thursday.
While thanking the people for the support given to him in stopping the impeachment move, the governor said:
“I am a man destined for greatness and with the power of God, nobody can bring me down. I have defeated my enemies during elections, and now I defeated impeachment”, Fayose stated.
“The President had said that he had no enemy to fight. He said he has put the past behind him and why are the APC lawmakers still bent on impeaching me? What is their own in this matter?” Fayose asked.
“I won’t behave like them. I am going to give to all that is due to them, not only the G7 alone”, he clarified.
The governor, equally pledged to work with the new Assembly for the overall interest of the people of the state.
Fayose, however, cautioned the new Speaker against being propelled by the kind of inordinate ambition he said that controlled former speakers of the House.
“Whoever thinks he would impeach his governor and the Deputy for him to become the Acting Governor always ends being destroyed. You have to learn from history. Those who impeached me the other time have died politically today.
He equally admonished the new lawmakers to operate like a family.
“I believe all of you, I mean lawmakers knew that whoever attacks the new speaker is attacking Fayose? I think you know that?” he said. Vanguard
