Fayose faces fresh legal battles

Just hours after the All Progressives Congress candidate, Dr.
Kayode Fayemi, was declared winner of Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti state, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has hinted on plans to arrest Ekiti state Governor, Mr.
Ayodele Fayose, at the expiration of his tenure in October.
Similarly, a National Commissioner at the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mrs Amina Zakari, has asked the governor to publicly apologise within 48 hours for accusing her of collaborating with the APC and its candidate at the poll.
While Fayemi had 197,459 votes to emerge winner, his closest rival and main contender, the incumbent governor of the state, Professor Kolapo Olusola Eleka of the Peoples Democratic Party, polled 178,121 votes.
But shortly after the APC’s victory, signs that the incumbent governor, Mr.
Fayose will run into troubled water emerged at the end of his tenure, as the EFCC announced plan to investigate the governor’s N1.3billion poultry saga.
The Ekiti State House of Assembly had in 2006, impeached Fayose over allegations that he used a firm, Integrated Poultry Project/ Biological Concepts Limited, to perpetrate fraud to the tune of N1.3billion.
He was subsequently arrested and arraigned on charges bordering on money laundering and misappropriation of funds.
Fayose, however, contested and won election in 2014 as governor of the state, thus assuming immunity from prosecution.
But with Saturday’s defeat of his anointed candidate, the EFCC, yesterday, in a post on its Twitter handle, asked Fayose to prepare for continuation of his trial.
Though, the out-going governor’s name was not mentioned, reference was made to the alleged poultry fraud, and the fact that the cover of immunity will soon be removed.
“The parri (party) is over, the cloak of immunity torn apart and the staff broken.
Ekiti Integrated Poultry Project/Biological Concepts Limited N1.3 billion fraud case file dusted off the shelves.
See you soon,” EFCC had stated.
Although the anti-graft body was quick to remove the post, but not after it had gained tremendous space on both the social media and the conventional ones.
Efforts to reach the commission’s spokesperson, Mr.
Wilson Uwujaren, proved abortive as at the time of filing this report, as his phone lines were switched off.
INEC chief wants apology Also, an INEC National Commissioner, Mrs Zakari, has given a 48-hour ultimatum to Governor Fayose, to publicly apologise for accusing her of colluding with the APC and its candidate, Dr Fayemi, in the just concluded governorship election in the state.
On July 2, 2018, the governor accused both the Police and the Department of State Services of reposting Fayemi’s security aides to the state with the sole purpose of coordinating the alleged rigging plan.
Further to this, Fayose also claimed that Zakari and three other INEC officials; Mr Kenneth Ukeagu (Director of Procurement Department); Messrs Paschal Uwaenwe and Abdulrazaq Yusuf (both Deputy Directors in Information and Communications Technology Department); were working with Fayemi to manipulate the elections.
Taking strong exceptions to the allegation however, Mrs Zakari, in a suit filed by her lawyers, Ubong Akpan Chambers, said the governor’s “scurrilous falsehood” had negatively impacted on her health, career and family life.” The suit titled, “Scurrilous statements against the integrity, person and public service of Mrs Amina Bala Zakari,” was addressed to the governor.
The lawyers said: “You (Fayose) are a Christian and a family man first before being a politician or governor of Ekiti State.
You cannot possibly think it is excusable on any grounds, other than deliberate viciousness, that a governor of a state can legitimately descend to labelling a mother, wife and sister of his fellow beings, a criminal of such astounding magnitude.
“What makes it worse than defamation is the incredible injurious falsehood you inflicted on our client, in her work and public service.” The suit added, “Mrs Zakari has been inundated with calls from family, friends and colleagues worldwide.” The INEC chief, while demanding for a written apology by the governor to be published in all national newspapers within 48 hours, further asked for “public retraction of all the allegations contained in all the said publications in the same manner and format, in which the allegations were made.”