*****Ekiti assault fallout: Fayose’s inauguration - TopicsExpress



          

*****Ekiti assault fallout: Fayose’s inauguration threatened***** There is palpable ap­prehension in Ekiti State as the outcome of the meeting of the Na­tional Judicial Council (NJC) billed for Monday and Tuesday is being awaited. There are indications that the NJC may consider suggestions for its mem­bers to stay away from the governor-elect, Ayodele Fayose’s inauguration in protest against the alleged asault on judicial workers, especially a judge in Ado-Ekiti. The meeting is expected to, among others, discuss and come out with a reso­lution on the crisis in Ekiti State and the inauguration on October 16 of the incom­ing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government to be headed by Mr. Ayodele Fayose. Opinions in the state are divided along political lines on the expected out­come of the NJC meeting chaired by the Chief Jus­tice of Nigeria (CJN), Jus­tice Alooma Muktar, espe­cially as concerns heighten over plots to stall the gover­nor-elect’s inauguration. The NJC was quoted to have promised to look into all petitions forwarded by the parties to the crisis and perhaps should be deter­mined before the swearing-in of the governor-elect. Crisis began in the state on September 22 when a mob invaded an Ado Ekiti High Court to disrupt pro­ceeding in a suit challeng­ing the eligibility of Fayose to contest the June 21 elec­tion which he won. The crisis took another dimension when hoodlums assaulted a judge of the Ado Ekiti High Court in the court premises on Sep­tember 25 on the last day of pre-trial in the petition filed by the All Progres­sives Congress (APC) chal­lenging Fayose’s victory in the court. In his reaction to the development, the Ekiti State Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, who or­dered indefinite shutdown of all state courts until security of judges and the courts could be guaran­teed, had petitioned the CJN, alleging that Fayose was behind the incidents in the court. And on the strength of that, the state PDP also petitioned the NJC and Muktar accusing the state Chief Judge of bias and plotting to abort the inau­guration of the governor-elect on October 16. The PDP, in the peti­tion signed by the secre­tary, Dr. Tope Aluko, and Publicity Secretary, Pas­tor Kola Oluwawole, had accused the state chief judge of planning “to give accelerated hearing to some suits challenging the eligibility of Fayose de­spite the notice of appeal and the stay of proceed­ings filed in respect of the suits”. People in APC circle believe tomorrow’s NJC meeting would pave the way for opening of Ekiti State courts and conse­quent commencement and delivery of judg­ment on Tuesday in a suit filed by the e-11 chal­lenging Fayose’s eligibil­ity for the governorship election. Their persuasion is that the matter in court would be in favour of the E-11 and consequent order of the court stopping Fay­ose’s swearing-in billed for Thursday.
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 08:55:41 +0000

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