Adesegun Best Wrote; The biggest question hanging on Fayoses October 16, 2014 swearing in date is Is Fayose qualified to have contested in the first place? This is the question a group known as E11 has (very rightly) asked the law courts to answer. This is not in anyway an electoral matter but a purely constitutional issue. But before we look at the issue, lets first ask PDP, Fayose and his Ekiti indigenes the following questions. 1. Do the E11 have the locus standi to go to the court to challenge Fayoses eligibility? The answer is a straight YES. 2. Has E11 breached any known law by challenging Fayoses eligibility? The answer is a straight NO. 3. Does the High court hearing the case have the jurisdiction to hear the case? The answer is a straight YES. Now lets sincerely ask ourselves the following? Is Fayose eligible to contest the June 21 2014 governorship election in the first place? I have read the Nigerian constitution over and over, and over again. The relevant section of the constitution which deals with eligibility is section 182. Section 182 (1) (h) provides that nobody is qualified to be Governor of a state if he has been indicted for embezzlement or standby a judicial commission of inquiry or an Administrative Panel of inquiry, or a Tribunal set up under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act, a Tribunals of Inquiry Law, or any other law by the federal and state government, respectively. So the question that then arises is: was Fayose ever indicted by any panel of Inquiry or was he ever impeached? Facts universally available show that on March 16 2006 Mr Fayose was impeached by the Ekiti state House of Assembly on grounds bordering on embezzlement and corruption. In October of same year, he was indicted by a 7-man panel of enquiry on all seven counts of embezzlement and corruption leveled against him. Among those who gave evidence against Fayose were his P.A., Goke Olatunji, Mr Gbenga James (Fayoses close friend and businessman) and one Abiodun Fari-Arole (Fayoses friend and businessman). Till date, no competent court, panel or commission of enquiry has cleared or acquited Fayose of those crimes. To me I think the biggest mistake PDP made remains picking an indicted former governor as their flag bearer. And it still beats me hollow how someone of Dr Ebele Goodluck Jonathan continues to support a brazen illegality. What is perhaps most disheartening and unfathomable is how pdp and Fayoses apologists and loyalists continue to attack E11 simply because theyre challenging Fayoses eligibility in a competent court of law. Does it matter at all even if almost the members of E11 are APC members? Absolutely not! Thats an argument on points of sentiment: not on points of law. Ive read a lot of propaganda against E11,especially by Lere Olayinka and co. The truth is, if anybody deserves to be arrested for inciting anarchy, Lere ought to be the first behind the bars. I keep wondering if this Lere Olayinka actually went to school at all. Let alone a journalism school. He has (un)surprisingly been at the vanguard of those condemning E11 for challenging Fayoses eligibility. Could it be that Lere has never read a copy of the Nigerian Constitution or relevant portions of the electoral act on eligibility? Or he simply believes the laws should no longer matter as long as Fayose has comfortably won the election. Lere and Fayose should know that those law had been there even before Fayose was impeached and indicted. And no one will rewrite the laws just because Fayoses election result was 16-0. Electoral matters are different from constitutional matters. This is what I expect Fayose and PDP to be preaching to their followers. Not to be assaulting. Judges and causing arson. Even though I voted for Fayose, I will be the last Ekiti indigene to agree that the letters of the law be mortgaged on the altar of political considerations.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 15:58:32 +0000
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