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
Whatis 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.
