The governor of Ekiti, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, declared shortly after arriving the state on Wednesday that he will not stop criticising the President Muhammadu Buhari Federal Government over bad policies, despite the recent clamp down on state officials by men of the Department of State Security (DSS).
The governor, who arrived the state from Abuja where he had been since Sunday to attend his party’s meeting, said no policy of the Federal Government that is inimical to the welfare of the people would be spared by his comments.
According to a press statement issued by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, Mr. Fayose, who was reacting to the development for the first time since DSS officials invaded the House of Assembly Complex in Ado-Ekiti and whisked four lawmakers, said he remained resolute in his determination to “criticise obnoxious policies of the president in the interest of Nigeria and our democracy”.
The Commissioner for Finance, Chief Toyin Ojo, was also arrested by DSS officers but was released late Tuesday night.
“The Bible says people with God are in majority. This is not the
first time people will harass me. It is a conspiracy and it will
collapse like other attempts before it. I will remain critical of the
activities of the Federal Government, especially when they do things that are inimical to the welfare of Nigerians,” Mr. Fayose said.
“Imagine the questions they asked my Commissioner for Finance, they asked him if the Federal Government has reimbursed the state government on works done on federal roads. But the records are with them in Abuja, can’t they check? We have nothing to hide and they are only chasing shadows and are time wasters.
“Telling the Federal Government that the economy is in trouble and that the President should stay at home to face governance is not a crime and is part of my rights as a citizen of this country. I am like a tree planted by the bank of a river that brings forth its
fruits in due season,” he added.
Answering question on the allegation that some people offered some lawmakers $1 million to impeach him, the governor expressed implicit confidence in the lawmakers.
“I am just coming from Abuja and I know that our lawmakers are solid guys and their future and mine are tied together. When the APC was at its peak in the state and they wanted to use 19 lawmakers to impeach me, they failed woefully and they will still fail again. This is a storm in a tea cup. They are not just starting I defeated them in all courts in the land. I won’t deter from saying the truth about the FG.
“We are in the morning we have not seen what the night is going to be. If it is me that brought myself here they will succeed, but if it is God, they will have to first overcome God before overcoming me,” the governor noted.