by Kolapo Olapoju

Ever since Ayo Fayose, got sworn-in as the governor of Ekiti state, the political terrain of the state has lurched from crisis to crisis.

The major players in the state’s political crisis are the governor, Ayo Fayose, and the speaker of the state House of Assembly, Adewale Omirin. The pair have been at the forefront of the brouhaha, which has seen the latter illegally impeached and forced to take refuge away from the state.

The crisis in the state has now taken another dimension, as police authorities are reportedly searching for the 19 lawmakers of the All Progressives’ Congress.

According to Mr Wole Olujobi, the Special Adviser to the Speaker, Dr Adewale Omirin, the police has invited the house members of the opposition for “interaction.”

He said: “Before the current move, the members were in possession of intelligence that Governor Ayodele Fayose had enlisted the support of the police in the crackdown on the opposition politicians, including the lawmakers, in a swoop on the opposition politicians for total control of the state.”

“So far, the police had dropped “invitation letters” in the homes of Honourable Folorunso Ogundele from Efon-Alaye and Honourable Tope Peter Agidi from Ilawe-Ekiti.’”

However, the Commissioner of Police in Ekiti State, Taiwo Lakanu, has dismissed the claims, saying there was no basis for such invitation, as there was no complaints against the lawmakers from any quarters.

He therefore, advised the Speaker, to ignore such invitation and return to the state.

Diversion of state funds

In a related development, the All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has accused Governor Ayodele Fayose of spending more than N150m of the state fund to renovate his privately-owned Spotless Hotel, Ado-Ekiti.

The party also accused the governor of spreading falsehood to win the sympathy of Ekiti people, and set them against former Governor Kayode Fayemi and other APC leaders.

In a statement by the state Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, the APC said Fayose lied by saying that Fayemi owed workers two months salaries, which he (Fayose) said he was not prepared to pay.

According to the party, Fayemi did not collect September allocation before he left in October and wondered why Fayose who collected September allocation refused to pay workers their September salaries.

“Fayose said in the programme that he has not collected any money since his assumption of office. This is a lie and wickedness against Ekiti workers. The workers deserve their pay. Fayose cannot claim he has no money after collecting N22bn so far after he assumed office.”

However, Fayose’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, has insisted that the renovation of Spotless Hotel commenced after Fayose won the Peoples Democratic Party’s primary.

He said: “The renovation started after the Governor won the primary of his party in March. This was done for convenience purpose. The renovation started when he had not won the election. How could he have access to state fund? The APC is idle, that is why it has been churning out lies. It should get busy with positive thinking.”