The Nation reports that following an alleged plot to unseat Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state, members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took to the streets on Thursday, June 30, to protest. The PDP members trooped out in their numbers in Ido-Ekiti headquarters of Ido/Osi local government, in support of Governor Ayo Fayose. According to the protesters, any attempt by the federal government to remove Governor Fayose will not be condoned.
They condemned alleged plot by the government to “hide under the pretext of an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to remove the governor.” Some of their placards read:
“Stop harassing Fayose”;
“Fayose remains blameless”;
“Fayose must complete his tenure” and
“Peace must remain in Ekiti”.
Speaking at the rally, a PDP chieftain, Adeola Ogunrinade, said the protest was staged to drum up support for Fayose, who he described as the “leader of opposition in Nigeria.” He said:
“The people trooped out in the last election to vote for Governor Ayodele Fayose because he did well in his first coming. Although they truncated his tenure, we won’t allow that this time. Any of the lawmakers in the House of Assembly who works against the governor is working against Ekiti’s interest and we won’t hesitate to recall the person. They are in the Assembly on the benevolence of the governor. So any act of betrayal will be taken as a coup against our collective interest.”
The former PDP Chairman, Idowu Faleye, said every move to unseat Fayose would be resisted. Faleye said:
“We are ready to resist any attempt to hijack power from Fayose through the backdoor with the last drop of our blood. We have sensitised our people and they know the truth. We will continue to expose the lies and scheming of the federal government against the governor.”
The EFCC, on Monday, June 20, froze two personal accounts of the governor and one belonging to his company, Spotless Investments, in the course of its investigations into N4.7billion the governor allegedly received from the office of the National Security Adviser during his election campaign in 2014. Fayose has since denied receiving any money, claiming it was Zenith Bank that majorly funded his campaign.