With the political scenario in Ekiti state on a high tempo, the Governor-elect, Ayodele Fayose is claiming to have uncovered a plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to ensure that the Speaker of the state House of Assembly becomes the next governor of the state instead of himself.
Fayose during a press conference in Lagos on Wednesday said the primary reason a socio-political group, Ekiti-11, headed to court was to ensure that it could achieve this through the back door.
He said this while explaining the circumstances surrounding an attack on a judge in the state during a court proceeding against him on Monday.
He further claimed it was through such dubious court judgement that former Governor Segun Oni was sacked, that led to the emergence of Governor Kayode Fayemi of the APC in 2010.
He, however, remained resolute that the people of the state would not allow his mandate to be stolen. He believes the people of Ekiti are more enlightened.
“The whole scheming in Ekiti State is just about the APC obtaining judgment through the back door after losing the election on June 20, 2014. You will recall that Segun Oni’s tenure was truncated through this back door judgment by some judicial officers who have been compromised.
“They can go as far as losing their career if and when politicians pay them well. The Ekiti people have spoken and they have spoken well. I came back into the country on Tuesday night and I have been briefed on the developments in the state. I want to state clearly that we will not allow any back door judgment to stall my inauguration.
“Their target is to install the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, who is an APC member, claiming that Fayose is not qualified to contest. I want to state that the people of Ekiti State are interested and they are equally more enlightened than before, where someone will just come and obtain judgment through the back door to stall a process and steal the people’s mandate”, he said.
He said there was the need for the judiciary in the state to be objective and fair, alleging that the judges in the state had been compromised because some of them were members of the Ekiti-11.
However, the APC in EKiti State accused Fayose of either being ignorant of the law governing electoral matters or deliberately being economical with the truth. This was contained in a statement by the Director of Publicity and Media of the party, Segun Dipe.
The party advised Fayose to always consult his legal advisers before making any statement that would portray him as not only legally deficient but desperate for power.
The party further berated Fayose and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party for resorting to violence to challenge an unfavourable court decision instead of treading the honourable path.