Ekiti lawmakers ‘offered’ $1m to remove Fayose

Some members of the Ekiti house of assembly have alleged that they were offered $1 million to impeach the governor, Ayo Fayose, although they did not name those behind it.

Fayose, who has been very critical of President Muhammadu Buhari, only on Sunday threatened to eject operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) from the state after they raided the house of assembly.

Addressing the press on Tuesday, Gboyega Aribisogan, chairman of the house committee on information, said: “In the last four days, eight of our members had been visited by some men, who claimed to be officials of the DSS.

“Our members were told that their names were among those to be arrested and they must ‘cooperate’ if they do not want their bank accounts frozen and be kept in DSS detention indefinitely.”

Fayose was impeached in 2006 after some state lawmakers were arrested by the EFCC.

He eventually escaped from the country and went on self-exile.

Armed men

“We are here to inform the public through your various medium the open involvement of men of the Department of State Service (DSS) from Abuja in the plot to unseat our State Governor, Mr Peter Ayodele Fayose,” Aribisogan said, with 13 other members sitting by him.

“The last Friday invasion of the state house of assembly by armed men of the DSS in which four of our members were abducted has been established to be a prelude to the clandestine plot to coerce members of the house of assembly to impeach Governor Fayose.

“As at today, even Hon Afolabi Akanni that we were able to confirm was with the DSS in Abuja is being held incommunicado. No one has been given access to him, not even his lawyers and doctors. We do not have any information as to the whereabouts of the other three.

“We are aware of the plot to arrest no fewer than 18 of our members with a view to forcing them to sign impeachment notice against Governor Fayose.

“The plot is being hatched by the same elements who masterminded the impeachment of Governor Fayose in 2006, which was eventually declared illegal by the supreme court and they are boasting of support of the DSS and the Presidency.

“In the last four days, eight of our member had been visited by some men, who claimed to be officials of the DSS. Our members were told that their names were among those to be arrested and they must ‘cooperate’ if they do not want their bank accounts frozen and be kept in DSS detention indefinitely.

‘Plotters of evil’

“They went on to promise that proper arrangement had been made for the impeachment of the governor, with a sum of $1 million already earmarked for sharing among ‘cooperating’ assembly members.

“Also, our members were told that they will be provided with soft-landing in the APC if they cooperate. One of them revealed that they promised to make him the speaker, and eventually the acting governor.

“We however wish to tell the plotters of evil against the government of Ayodele Fayose and by extension the people of Ekiti state that we, members of the state house of assembly are not interested in their evil plot.

“We are prepared to spend the rest of our tenure in DSS cell, instead of joining people that we roundly defeated in five straight elections to cause another political instability in Ekiti state.

“These agents of destabilisation should be reminded of the 2006 episode, which was responsible for Ekiti State having six governors in three years!

“Most importantly, Governor Fayose is our benefactor. He is our leader on whose political strength we are members of the State House of Assembly. We can even be called his stooges, we don’t mind. We will never do anything to jeopardise his interest and be extension, interests of Ekiti people.

“We therefore wish to state unequivocally that we are not interested in any $1 million.

“We won’t because of any blood money join forces with enemies of our State, who are desirous of destabilising the State just because they lost power.”