Fayose’s mandate and constitutionalism in Nigeria Shola Adebowale Politics October 2014 “An enlightened citizenry is indispensable for the proper functioning of a republic” —Thomas Jefferson. Ekiti State Governor-elect, Ayodele Fayose, in a press conference in Lagos on Wednesday, September 24, claimed to have uncovered a plot by the All Progressives Congress to ensure that the Speaker of the state House of Assembly becomes the next governor of the state instead of him. He said this while explaining the circumstances surrounding an attack on a judge in the state during a court proceeding on a suit filed against him on Monday, September 22. Subsequent upon which, on Thursday morning (September 25), some thugs believed to be loyal to the governor-elect, allegedly beat up a judge, Justice John Adeyeye, for being (according to his assailants), rude to Fayose. However, the governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting, billed to hold on the same day at the High Court, Ado-Ekiti, was aborted, due to the pandemonium that ensued, as judicial workers abandoned their duty posts and ran for safety. In retrospect, it should be noted that before the June 21 governorship election, a socio-political group, Ekiti-11, had headed for court to challenge Fayose’s eligibility to participate in the election, bearing in mind certain obvious unambiguous sections and clauses in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria particularly Section 182.(1)(d) and most especially (e) and (i). For instance, Fayose was impeached on October 16, 2006 (eight years ago, hence less than the 10 years prescribed by the Constitution), by the then House of Assembly for alleged gross misconduct and fraud. Meanwhile, the 1999 Constitution is very clear on such issue and there is no lacuna as regards the eligibility or otherwise of any candidate vying for governorship of any of the 36 states. For instance: Section 182, sub-section (1) says: ‘No person shall be qualified for election to the office of governor of a state, if…(e)within a period of less than 10 years before the date of election to the office of governor of a state he has been convicted and sentenced for an offence involving dishonesty or he has been found guilty of the contravention of the code of conduct…’ While sub-section (1) (i) of the same section says: [If] ‘he has been indicted for embezzlement or fraud by a judicial commission of inquiry or an administrative panel of inquiry or a tribunal set up under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act, a Tribunal of Inquiry Law or any other law by the federal or state government which indictment has been accepted by the federal or state government’. It therefore stands that, by knowingly allowing Fayose to contest and his emergence as the PDP governorship candidate on March 22, 2014, a dangerous precedent, in flagrant and premeditated assault on the integrity and credibility of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was set into irreversible motion. It is instructive to note that, 15 other aspirants who boycotted the PDP election that brought up Fayose, had raised the issue of Fayose’s ineligibility, so it was not done out of ignorance. But unfortunately, it is now, the ‘Causa sine qua non’ of subsequent dire and dangerous events that threaten the sanctity of the nation’s constitution and peace of the state. In other words, the victory of Fayose at the polls on June 21, 2014, is now a controversial issue that means that, the letter and spirit of the 1999 Constitution must be flagrantly suspended, if Fayose were to be sworn in on October 16, as the duly elected governor of the otherwise ‘Fountain of Knowledge,’ Ekiti State, by such aforementioned inconsistency. As it were, reminiscent of the fabled ‘Wild, Wild, West,’ genteel perversion pervades and prevails all over Ekiti State: houses have started burning, cars are being burnt, one or two dead bodies littered the streets of Ado-Ekiti, the end seems not to be in sight, except the ‘players’ quickly learn to shelve their self-serving and parochial interest in the interest of the state or the Constitution of Nigeria. On the other hand, the state APC chairman, Chief Jide Awe expressed pessimism over the peace of the state under Mr Fayose. Awe said “We have experienced (this) under Fayose for almost three and half years, during his first coming. The only thing I can say and from what has happened already is that his coming portends danger to Ekiti State. With what he did last week, if we are going to premise our future on what happened last week, you will know that the judiciary is the only sacred temple of justice that exists all over the world. “Even Jesus Christ in his days, humbled himself before Pontius Pilate. How can a man, in the 21st Century invade the temple of justice? Under such leader and administration, how do you think any good thing will come out? That was a beastly behaviour for an ordinary person, not to talk about someone who wants to lead Ekiti State. “He has demonstrated to us that he has no respect for anybody and we are going back to the days of yore when human lives meant nothing.” Another person, who shares Awe’s sentiment is former governor of Kwara State, Senator. Bukola Saraki. The lawmaker particularly cautioned that the trouble in Ekiti, should not be treated with partisan approach. As far as he is concerned, the development should be seen as an affront on the independence of the judiciary. Partisan approach should be avoided — Saraki He asserts that “the Presidency has not deemed it fit to act on the development in Ekiti State, a situation that has further confirmed that the leadership of this country has failed.” Senator Saraki maintained that if the symbol of a common man which is the Court can be diminished and degraded, then the leadership of this country has failed us all because the current security situation in Ekiti State is a big threat to our nascent democracy, political stability and judicial independence and above all, it is an affront to our peaceful co-existence in our immediate environment”. ‘’I am personally worried and concerned as a Nigerian and as a stakeholder in the Nigerian polity. Whether the Ekiti State crisis is APC or PDP driven or whether it is as a result of an act of commission or omission and whether it is government, group of people or individually driven, I must say without any ambiguity that what has happened in Ekiti State in the last few weeks is totally unacceptable and should be dealt with immediately and decisively too.’’ “A situation where the independence of our judiciary and its institutions and office of our respected judicial officials are no more secured and safe to discharge their constitutional responsibility and professional roles, it is a signal that anarchy is about to set in to our polity and it is unfortunate that at a time when we as a Nation are battling high rate of insecurity and insurgency across the country such assault is being unleashed on a Judge of a High Court on official duty”. parochial interest in the interest of the state or the Constitution of Nigeria. As of today, the state is now partially locked down, with a ‘dusk to dawn’ curfew, as announced by the outgoing governor. Though, tension remains higher than Mount Kilimanjaro. Perhaps, it is now obvious, without any iota of doubt, that it is going to be a long night of long knives in the next couple of days in Ekiti State, as the countdown to October 16 ticks
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 08:32:39 +0000