Rotimi Ojomoyela
A traditional ruler in Ekiti state and the Alafao of Afao Ekiti, Oba Joseph Adebare Ademilua, has denied the rumour that the former Governor Ayodele Fayose locked him up in his palace to prevent him from attending to Governor Kayode Fayemi during his campaign in the town last week Friday.
The Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation had in a statement signed by its spokesman ,Mr Dimeji Daniels, accused Fayose of allegedly locking up the monarch in the palace to prevent Oba Ademilua from receiving Fayemi.
Speaking with the newsmen at his palace in Afao Ekiti yesterday, Oba Ademilua, said the statement credited to Daniel, was meant to tarnish his image and pitch him against Governor Fayemi.
He said he did not attend to Fayemi that day because of the fear that what happened in Iyin Ekiti, where the APC and LP had engaged in violent act, could rear its ugly head in the town.
Meanwhile, miffed by persistent crises in Ekiti in recent time, the Ekiti state Council of Traditional Rulers, on Monday summoned Governor Fayemi and candidates of other parties to explain their roles in the violence that have continued to greet their electioneering campaigns.
Also to be summoned are candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Ayo Fayose and that of Labour Party (LP), Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele, respectively.
Chairman of the Council and the Onitaji of Itaji Ekiti, Oba Adamo Babalola, who addressed the newsmen on the matter, warned the politicians against breaching the relative peace being enjoyed in the state.
He said: “Ekiti state Traditional Council, at its statutory meeting of April 29, 2014, resolved to appeal to all stakeholders in the politics of the state to play by the rules as stipulated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). They should eschew violence and politics of bitterness. In addition, Law Enforcement Agencies are advised to be above board, non-partisan and be fair to all concerned in the discharge of their onerous responsibilities.”
