In this interview with Kamarudeen Ogundele, the embattled Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin, speaks about the tension between the All Progressives Congress’ lawmakers and Governor Ayodele Fayose

What is your response to Governor Ayodele Fayose’s plea for forgiveness?

We know the type of person he is. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t trust him. He says one thing and does the opposite. So, he is not somebody we can trust. I don’t think he is sincere about what he is saying because if he was sincere, what came up in Ekiti State yesterday (Friday) should not have come up again. The entire state was in disarray. The roads were blocked and thugs were everywhere. All the entrances were blocked. Even those bringing in their corpses from Lagos State were asked to open the casket. For what?

Are you willing to forgive him if he is sincere?

We are ready for dialogue too, if he is ready to toe the path of peace. He is the one causing trouble. He is the one that has brought inconvenience to us and our families. He has stopped our salaries and other entitlements. It is not that we don’t want to work with him, but he is the one refusing to allow peace to reign in the state.

I’m an Ekiti man. What I want is peace and harmony. There is nothing I’m going to gain from asking him to go. We want the state to be governed in the right direction like other states. He is not the only governor in Nigeria. He is supposed to be the chief security officer of the state but he is the chief security risk of the state. For me and other elites of Ekiti State, this is not acceptable to us. We want a leader for all; a leader that will treat everybody like his subject, not a leader that will chase the opposition about and encourage thugs to move freely, destroy peoples’ properties, beat his subjects, insult elders and assault people. This is not the type of governor we wish for.

If he tries to show remorse, who are we not to forgive him? We don’t have anything to gain by impeaching him. A Yoruba adage says, ‘If you pursued a goat to the wall, the goat has no option than to face you.’ He had pushed us to the wall. Since October, he has not paid our allowances; he has not allowed us to return to the state. Each time we want to come back, he will send thugs just to scare us away. As far as we are concerned, there was no need for that because, in the first instance, we never wanted to quarrel with him. We pledged our loyalty and readiness to work with him. But he thinks the only way he can rule is to subdue the opposition.

We have families; we have people who depend on us. He also locked my filling station. That is absolute wickedness. So, if he is ready to change, we will forgive him.

The factional Speaker, Dele Olugbemi, claimed you invited him to a meeting in Lagos and Osun states to plot the impeachment.

Ask him to provide proofs. I have never invited Olugbemi to a meeting. I don’t know what he is talking about.

What kind of solution are you exploring?

He (Fayose) knows what to do. There is no way a seven-member Assembly can sit in the House. It is illegal. They did not form quorum. The constitution is very clear on this. For the Speaker to be impeached in a 26-member house, you need 18 members. He knows what to do. The status quo should be maintained. He should pay the allowances of all members.

I was in the church when the governor did his thanksgiving (after winning the governorship election); he was rolling on the ground, saying he would not pursue vengeance. He promised to rule with the fear of God. As soon as he left the church, the contrary was the case.

Why did you withdraw the case against Olugbemi?

We withdrew the court case because we felt there was no need for it in the first instance. We felt no need in challenging the action because it was an illegal action. We decided to pursue a political solution. If we had gone to court for an injunction restraining Olugbemi from parading himself as the Speaker in the last six months and we are not getting it, then common sense dictates that we should abandon it and look for a political solution.

Why have you failed to get the injunction?

I don’t know because I’m not the judge.

What is the next step on the Impeachment proceedings?

Let us keep our fingers crossed. Events will be unfolding.

Has the Chief Judge received and acted on the impeachment letter?

Don’t worry, events will be unfolding.

Has the governor reached out to you?

He has an ego; he won’t do that.

Are you ready to reach a compromise on the leadership tussle in the Assembly?

There is no leadership tussle in the Assembly. There was never an impeachment, as far as we are concerned. Olugbemi’s speakership is not known to the law. Has he attended the Conference of Speakers? He dares not. I have been attending; I’m the only recognised Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly.

He claimed that the Speakers meeting took place only once in the last six months?

Was he invited? I was in Abuja in February for the meetings. Was he there? I was there to submit the constitutional amendment; was he there? To show their ignorance, the constitutional amendment was submitted on (February) 18 to the National Assembly; they went to submit theirs on (February) 22. You can see how ignorant Olugbemi and his groups are.

Fayose, do the needful or be impeached

Good Morning Ekiti
Good Morning Nigeria!

Good Morning NairaLanders

Fayose cannot really be trusted indeed!

He says one thing and acts differently. This is typical of a chameleon which he has proved to be.

Tooo



I just dey observe

Self service and aggrandisement!!!

The pikin who say im mama no go sleep, hm kwa no sleep.

fayose is ready to appease you guys,but the lawmakers should put ekiti state first,because no governor will be thinking about developmental project when papers are being served for his impeachment

Ok

Fayose is wicked. He needs to be impeached

So making thugs cause trouble and shooting sporadically is the right thing to do?

Who voted these men?

Medley:
fayose is ready to appease you guys,but the lawmakers should put ekiti state first,because no governor will be thinking about developmental project when papers are being served for his impeachment

If Fayose is normal, the matter is simple. The complications arising from this whole saga is that Fayose is sick upstairs. He is a crass egomaniac without a modicum of leadership quality. This man does not have the capacity to rule ALL ekiti. All he does is to exploit class divide to GET AND HOLD ON TO POWER.
there is a world of diffrence between CHEAP POPULARITY and LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE.
FAYOSE CANNOT GIVE WHAT HE DOES NOT HAVE!!

Say no to thuggery in nigeria. He must be impeached

Fayose,if you escape impeachment,you will escape prison after your tenure

softwareman:

If Fayose is normal, the matter is simple. The complications arising from this whole saga is that Fayose is sick upstairs. He is a crass egomaniac without a modicum of leadership quality. This man does not have the capacity to rule ALL ekiti. All he does is to exploit class divide to GET AND HOLD ON TO POWER.
there is a world of diffrence between CHEAP POPULARITY and LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE.
FAYOSE CANNOT GIVE WHAT HE DOES NOT HAVE!!

okay,are you from ekiti?

Only solution is for Fayose to visit Hill Top estate and do the needful.
You can't ridicule your elders for a morsel of food- at least in Yoruba land.

OBJ is an unforgiving silent killer.

PassingShot:
Fayose cannot really be trusted indeed!

He says one thing and acts differently. This is typical of a chameleon which he has proved to be.

just like Buhari, Hv u read his recent interview?
saying one thng during campaign n saying another after he won.
lets c hw this change go be.





guys who notice the kind heat sweeping ACROSS NAIJA since apc won elections? its so bad that even fan dey blow better HEAT!





CHANGE DON COME OOOOOOOOo