Gov running from his shadow –Aluko
From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan and Wole Balogun
NINE out of 11 members of Ekiti State House of Assembly have fled Ado-Ekiti to Ibadan, Oyo State in a bid to avoid what they described as indiscriminate arrest of top officials of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the state government.
Daily Sun gathered that the lawmakers left Ado-Ekiti for Ibadan on Tuesday night to beat security checks. Latest information yesterday afternoon indicated that the lawmakers might have also left Ibadan for another hideout.
This was against the backdrop of an alarm raised on Tuesday night by the Ekiti State Government that armed policemen from Abuja have allegedly stormed Ado-Ekiti on a mission to arrest leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), top government officials and 11 members of the state House of Assembly.
Lawmakers sighted in Ibadan were deputy speaker, Mr. Adewumi Olusegun; Chief Gboyega Aribisogan, chairman, House Committee on Information, Youths and Sports; Dr. Omotosho Samuel, chairman, House Committe on Health; and Mr. Fasanmi Temitope, chiarman, House Committee on Public Account.
The lists also comprised Mr. Jeje Samuel, chairman House Committee on Finance and Appropriation; Mr. Akinniyi Sunday, the chief whip; Mr. Fajemilehin Oyedele, Mr. Aladeyelu Henry and Akinleye Ekundayo.
Addressing newsmen on behalf of the lawmakers, Chairman of the Committee on Information, Youths and Sports, Chief Aribisogan said the legislators came to Ibadan to alert the public to the purported new clandestine plot of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government to cripple the Ekiti State Government.
He alleged that some policemen led by one CSP Mohammed Abubakar of the Force CID, Abuja, on Tuesday “were brought to Ekiti State by the expelled former State Secretary of the PDP Mr Tope Aluko and Ekiti State APC Chairman, Jide Awe.”
“We are aware that this plot is as a result of the failure of the Department of State Services (DSS) to coerce members of the House of Assembly to impeach Governor Ayodele Fayose just because of his criticism of the obnoxious policies of President Mohammadu Buhari’s APC government.
Meanwhile, Secretary of Ekiti State PDP, Mr. Tope Aluko has said Fayose is only running away from his shadow over his (Aluko) recent expose and confessions on alleged rigging of the June 21, 2014 gubernatorial elections in the state. Aluko was reacting to allegations that he is a ‘Judas’, allegations levelled against him by Fayose’s Special Adviser on Communication and New Media, Lere Olayinka.
Olayinka had in a statement made available to journalists yesterday, described Aluko as present day Judas over his allegation that the June 21, 2014 gubernatorial poll that returned Governor Fayose, was rigged.
Aluko had stirred the hornet net when he alleged that Fayose got a sum of $37 million to deploy the military to rig the said election.
Consequently, several developments have followed his outburst which include the alleged invasion of the Ekiti House of Assembly by men of the Directorate of State Services (DSS) and arrest of some lawmakers who were detained for days and recently released, there was also yesterday’s allegation by the state government that policemen from Abuja were in the state to arrest 11 lawmakers and some top government functionaries at the pointing of APC members in the state.
Speaking to reporters at the Correspondents’ Chapel in the state yesterday, Aluko who disclosed that he remains a member of the PDP and secretary of the party in Ekiti, said: “The APC has been petitioning me and it came as a rude shock to me when the government (Ekiti State Government) said that I’m Judas, they are the Judas anyway, because they betrayed me.
I am still a member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party. It is APC that is petitioning me over this issue I trashed out on channels television recently. They petitioned me, and I have stayed 12 days with SSS, five days with police and five days with the the EFCC . So I’m actually on bail from these security operatives…”