Group says Fayose Targets APC Leaders In Demolition Spree


By Bola Eniitan
Opposition group has said that the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose has veiled his vengeance mission under the cloak of pulling down petrol stations for legal reasons.
In a statement issued in Ado-Ekiti today and made available to Irohinoodua, the Ekiti Petrol Dealers Collective, (EPDC) stated "In what looks like a vengeance against members of opposition party running fuel stations in Ekiti State, Governor Ayodele Fayose yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, went after petrol stations belonging to members of APC or the party's sympathisers in a mindless destruction that left residents distraught.

The group stated further that "few weeks ago, a fuel station, Strive Energy, belonging to Fayose's political opponent had caught fire after a spill. The ensuing inferno wreaked havoc, leaving about 20 people losing properties and other personal belongings.

The unfortunate incident was what Governor Fayose needed to get back at his political foes to run them out of business.

Pronto, Fayose decreed that the station must be removed from its present location and all the victims must be compensated.

But Fayose it was who approved the construction of the same filling station at its present site after collecting millions of naira in charges, levies, Certificate of Occupancy, among others. As at last Friday, 18 out of the 20 victims had been compensated.

But then, that was not exactly what Fayose wanted, as he again went on the offensive targeting almost all the fuel stations belonging to members of the opposition party APC, ordering them out of their present locations and revoking all documents to his earlier approvals for the construction and operations of the sales outlets of these fuel stations.

After the fire incident at Strive Energy filling station, the owner was taken to court by Fayose after the owner was mandated to compensate 21 people who lost one property or the other in the unfortunate incident, and so far, 19 of the 21 victims have been compensated.

This is besides the member forcing these same stations he wants to demolish to forcefully cough out N250,000 for each of the pumps at each filing station, meaning that N1million was paid by a filling station that has four pumps.

This is besides the payment of another N100,000 for "authority to construct", all of which were paid to Fayose who has now turned around to revoke these approvals in a clampdown that will make it practically impossible for oil companies owned by the opposition to run their businesses smoothly for the benefit of the members of the public.

In Fayose's new regime of charges to suffocate members of opposition parties running fuel stations, he has jerked up rates and charges for those he had asked to relocate their filling stations and these charges must be paid in full before construction works can start.

Curiously, those affected by the new regime of charges, levies and relocation are stations belonging to opposition APC members, all of them marked for demolition over alleged location in residential areas and so they must relocate to new sites on the condition that they pay the new outrageous charges.

Curiously too, other stations owned by PDP members are not affected by the governor's new policy targeted at the members of the opposition party even though the stations belonging to members of his party (PDP) are more guilty of operating within residential areas.

For instance, Debfab Petrol Station at the Old Motor Park in Ado-Ekiti located in a densely populated and choky residential area and smaller in size than a tenth of a plot of land is owned by Fayose's Special Adviser on Culture, Alhaji Ademola Bello.

This station located in the heart of the town with both residential and commercial houses bordering it, including harbouring a motor park, is not affected by Fayose's new order.

Another PDP chieftain, Prof Tunde Adeniran, owns a filling station before Adehun located in a densely populated area in Ado-Ekiti, but Fayose's new order doesn't apply to it.

Another filling station located in a residential area, NIPCO Filling Station, along Bank Road, is owned by a PDP member, who is the wife of the owner of Delight Hotel. The woman is gearing for election under PDP platform in the general elections next year. That filling station that competes with other residential houses in the area is not affected by Fayose's new order.

Conversely, Fayose this evening started pulling down filling stations belonging to APC members or perceived sympathisers of APC members

For instance, stations belonging to APC chieftain, Remi Oguntuase (REMOG), and an Igbo businessman, Gilbert, perceived by Fayose to have sympathy for APC, had their new stations demolished this evening.

It will be recalled that during Fayose's first stint between 2003 and 2006, Mobil fuel station, Ajilosun, also owned by Remog (Remi Oguntuase), was a target of incessant raids and destruction by Fayose's thugs. Routine night raids of Mobil became fashionable for Fayose's thugs, who unleashed injuries on AD/AC members.

Governor Fayose had raised the alarm that the filling stations marked for demolition are those located within residential areas that pose danger to the public. He bragged that he was a man of the people and that he would go to any length to ensure that the people are kept out of danger of petrol fire from filling stations located in residential areas.

Perhaps more dangerous in the Governor Ayodele Fayose's anti-fuel dealers activities is the incitement of the public against oil marketers who he branded as enemies of his government, and who he alleged are bent on bringing his government down even though the same government is owing oil suppliers millions of naira in debt payment default in petroleum products supplies to the Government House and other agencies of government without any threat from the marketers to withdraw their services to the state government over these debts.

This evening demolition of the opposition's fuel stations did not come without what can be suspected as Fayose/palace conspiracy to enable the governor have his way.

For imposing duplication of charges and introduction of new outrageous charges and revocation of the certificates of occupancy, the oil marketers had called out the members of their association on Monday to a strike until the governor reversed his outrageous policy.

But the governor scoffed at the strike declaration, daring the oil marketers in his media chat to declare the strike immediately and that the strike should go on for eternity, vowing never to change his mind.

In the loop to mediate in the face-off were the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti and Commissioner of Police, who were to plead with marketers that in the interest of the public, they should call off their strike. The Ewi pleaded with the oil marketers to honour him by suspending the strike.

The monarch met the marketers in his palace with the Ewi-in-Council in attendance after which Fayose invited both the monarch and Ekiti police boss to a meeting in the Government House.

First to arrive the meeting was Ewi. By the time the commissioner of police arrived the Government House to join the meeting, Fayose had already made up his mind on what to do.

He told the unsuspecting Commissioner of Police to return to his house as he was busy holding a meeting with an "important personality" and that truce was already agreed to suspend the strike. In that meeting also were the executive members of oil marketers union.

Ewi pleaded that on his honour and in the interest of the public, the marketers should call of their strike. They deferred to the monarch, calling off the strike that created some relief among the residents.

But minutes later, Fayose surprisingly appeared in his knickers and T-shirt supervising the demolition of Remog's filling station at Irona area of the state capital to the chagrin of residents. Next is the nearby new filling station owned by Gilbert, an Igbo entrepreneur who Fayose had tried in vain to drag into PDP politics.

Fayose was moving to the third filling station for demolition but he met a determined group of marketers who dared the governor to kill them instead of allowing him to demolish the third filling station.

Residents watched in disbelief as bulldozers pulled down the structures in the two new filling stations under construction.

Fayose had earlier in 2015 closed down a fuel station belonging to former Speaker, Dr Adewale Omirin, of APC after the governor sent the 19 APC members in the House of Assembly out of Ekiti State to a forced exile while he used seven PDP members to impeach Dr Omirin in the Assembly of 26 members.

The distraught oil marketers couldn't believe their eyes as they watched Fayose's bulldozers pulling the structures down.

In frustration, they raced to the official residence of the Commissioner of Police to inform the shocked police officer what became the peace meeting called by Ewi and Fayose, during which the monarch sought understanding and honour from the oil marketers to suspend their strike, which they obliged.

Late this night, the matter has taken a new dimension as NUPENG national leadership has reportedly summoned a meeting for Enugu on Friday for a showdown with a "reckless governor" bent on undermining the opposition members in oil sale business because of his intolerance and desperation to run members of opposition out of business.

Surprisingly, all these charges being imposed by the governor are not reflected in the IGR profile of the state.

Often, Fayose keeps the proceeds of IGR in the account only known to himself. This forced a lawyer, Adeoye Aribasoye, to apply for FOI Law to seek permission to look into the state's books for details of the state's IGR profile. Fayose has so far refused to cooperate, forcing the lawyer to sue the state government for the governor's action.

Like Fayose is doing to the stations whose owners are perceived as enemies, the governor had earlier closed down the operations of Ekiti State branches of ECOBANK and GTB for the refusal of the banks to pay their social responsibility cash personally to him.

The banks insisted that the usual corporate practice is to make a choice of projects they want to execute to assist their hosts in their infrastructure development. Fayose would have none of that.

Following their refusal to surrender their money to Fayose, the governor first moved tractors to the gates of these banks to destroy the entrances to their premises before ordering them to close down their operations.

ECOBANK closed shop in Ekiti last year with scores of Ekiti indigenes working in the bank to lose their jobs. Not done, only last week, he ordered GTB closure with Ekiti indigenes working there facing job losses.

Last year also, Fayose ordered Cocacola that engaged hundreds of Ekiti indigenes out of Ekiti State for the company's refusal to surrender its social responsibility cash to him.

Cocacola Depot in Ekiti had more than 100 trailers. Majority of staff were Ekiti indigenes. Food sellers, mechanics, artisans and other service providers that serviced a deluge of customers at the Depot have since remained jobless while state workers remain unpaid for six months after Fayose collected about N20b bailout in two tranches, including secretly collecting another N1.3b Budget Support Facility monthly for nine months to pay salaries and pensions but diverted the money for selfish reasons.

Olota News Review gathered that because of Fayose's recalcitrant step, Ekiti people should be ready to face the longest and most excruciating fuel strike that will cripple the state economically and socially as oil unions' chiefs gather in Enugu on Wednesday for Thursday meeting for a showdown with the governor

make I see down do look first.