Politics
“I Will Probe Fayose’s Activities For The Past Four Years” – Fayemi
Governor-elect of Ekiti state, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has expressed his intention to probe the activities of incumbent Governor Ayo Fayose when he takes over office in a few months time.
Speaking to State House correspondents after visiting President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Thursday he said that it will not be reasonable to expect that he will not look into the past.
He said: “Well l think we need to remove this election from personalities. This was an election that we fought on issues and it will be irresponsible on my part to come here and say that we will not examine what transpired in the last four years in the manner of government.
“What was received in Ekiti State and the expenditures in that period? Why were we not able to pay salaries in the state? These issues should be examined in the interest of good governance.
“It is not about probing Fayose, probing Eleka etc, it is about not repeating the mistakes of the past and giving our people good government and how to do so will also involve looking at what transpired in the last four years.”
On the reports of widespread vote buying during the recent Ekiti state governorship election, Fayemi said he was not aware of such as he did not see any evidence in the areas he visited.
He added: “I haven’t any substantive evidence of allegations of vote buying and intimidation. In the place where l visited, there was no vote buying anywhere. As far as our party is concerned, we did not engage in that, it is not our style.
“We won the election fair and square and it was an election that we fought on issues and not on the basis of any vote buying. So, who ever has any evidence of that should present it to an independently verifiable audience.”
Fayemi noted that creating a decent life for the people had always been his interest as he castigated Fayose for presiding over pedestrian policies.
The governor-elect further stated: “We have always been interested that out people lived a decent life, a life without hunger, with social support and that is why we were paying social security benefits to the elderly, we provided the youth graduate scheme for the recent graduates, provided support for the communities.
“For us, we never saw stomach infrastructure from any pedestrian manner that the current administration has lived it up to. For us, it is about total development of our people, human capital development in education, health care, in social services and infrastructure development.
“It is total services we focused in. We increased salaries three times so that people could put food on their table in four years. That was why we provided range of allowances for the workers .
“There was a huge difference between what we did and the present administration with lack of salaries , heartless, despair and despondency. We are restoring the values and reclaiming our mandate.”
Politics
Edo PDP opposes suspension of LG bosses by state assembly, says ‘It’s unconstitutional’
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo says the suspension of all the chairpersons and their deputies in the 18 LGAs of the state is “unconstitutional”.
The chairpersons and their deputies were suspended on Tuesday by the Edo state house of assembly for two months over alleged misappropriation of funds.
Blessing Agbebaku, the speaker of the house, said Monday Okpebholo, governor of Edo, had written a petition to the assembly regarding the chairpersons’ refusal to submit the financial records of their LGs to the state government.
In a statement, Anthony Aziegbemi, chair of the PDP in Edo, said the “illegal” suspension is a disregard to a supreme court decision that affirms the autonomy and independence of local governments.
“How can the governor direct the State Assembly to suspend democratically elected chairmen of the 18 local councils for insubordination when these elected officials enjoy autonomy and independence as enshrined in the constitution and are not subordinates of the governor, the state assembly, or any other arm of government?,” he said.
“We are also aware that the chairmen and their vices were not even given the opportunity to be heard in their detence and were suspended unheard on watery trumped up charges, in total disregard to the constitution.
“We want to restate that the constitution remains supreme, and any attempt to undermine its provisions or disregard the judiciary and its rulings is not only illegal but also a direct attack on democracy and the rule of law.
“The speaker of the Edo state house of assembly and the entire assembly have clearly overstepped their constitutional mandates with this illegal action and we urge them to immediately reverse its decision, in respect to the rule of law and democratic governance.”
Aziegbemi said the suspended officials should report to their councils on Wednesday and carry on with their normal duties.
Also speaking on the issue, Anthony Ehilebo, a PDP chieftain, said Okpebholo has no legal backing to request the financial records of the LGAs.
“In fact, the governor and the assembly members are in contempt of the supreme court,” Ehilebo said when he appeared on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.
“The purported suspension of the local government chairmen by the state assembly is as absurd as the president asking the national assembly to suspend state governors because they refused to submit statements of accounts to him.
“This is a witch hunt. The LGA chairmen are all PDP members.”
The lawyer said the suspension “is unknown to law and will be ignored”.
Politics
Ex-sports minister Bolaji Abdullahi resigns from PDP
Bolaji Abdullahi, a former minister of sports and youth development, has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He disclosed his intention to resign in a letter dated December 16 and addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Ubadawaki, Kwara state.
Abdullahi confirmed the development to TheCable on Monday.
The ex-minister also said he is yet to decide which political platform to pitch tent with.
“The decision of what to do and where to go will be taken in the future that’s left to God,” he said.
In the resignation letter, Abdullahi said he reached the “difficult” decision after days of reflection and introspection.
“I write to formally resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” the letter reads.
“I have had ample time to reflect, and I have come to the difficult conclusion that this is the only tenable option for me at this time.
“Mr. Chairman, please permit me to express, through you, my gratitude to the leadership of the party for the opportunities that I have had to serve the state and the country on its platform, and for the great moments we have shared.”
Abdullahi was the PDP candidate for the Kwara central senatorial district election in 2023. He lost the race to Salihu Mustapha of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Politics
PDP debunks inviting Jonathan to contest 2027 presidency
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has not extended an invitation to former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the presidency on its platform in the 2027 election.
Speaking with BBC Hausa, Ibrahim Abdullahi, deputy spokesperson of the country’s main opposition party, said no ticket has been issued to the former president.
Abdullahi said the party has many eligible people who can contest for the presidency on its platform, adding that a recent interview he granted was interpreted to mean that Jonathan he asked to run on the PDP platform.
“The report that PDP has issued its presidential ticket to former President Goodluck Jonathan or invited him to contest the 2027 presidential election is not true,” he said.
“What happened is this, I had an interview with a journalist where we discussed some issues.
“But in the course of the interview, he mentioned President Jonathan, asking about our opinion of him, because there are reports that he is being urged to run for the presidency.
“I responded by saying that he (Jonathan) is eligible to contest the election, because he is a Nigerian and has the right to do that by the provision of the law, and he still has one more term left.
“So, there is nothing wrong about him contesting the presidential election because he is eligible in the face of the law.”
The deputy spokesperson said the ticket would be given to someone who has shown interest in running for the presidency.
Jonathan, then in the PDP, lost the presidential election to former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
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