by Kolapo Olapoju

Ayo Fayose, the controversial governor of Ekiti appears to be getting tired of fighting for his political survival, and as such wants to make peace with the 19 lawmakers of the All Progressives Congress, who are hellbent on getting him impeached.

To avoid suffering the ignominy of being the first governor to be twice-impeached, Fayose has called his G-19 enemies to the negotiating table.

The governor had said the following at the Ansar ud Deen Mosque, Ado Ekiti on Friday, April 17.

“I am not opposed to anything that can bring peace; peace cannot be wished away. I’m ready to accommodate everybody. Whatever they want, we can sit down and talk. There is no perfect man. They should allow peace to reign. All I want is peace that will energise development.”

However, many are of the opinion that Fayose can’t exactly be trusted as dealing with him his like using a long fork to eat with the devil.

One of such persons is the embattled Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin, who says that Fayose can be vengeful and is not exactly the poster-boy of trustworthiness.

“I was in the church when the governor did his thanksgiving (after winning the governorship election); he was rolling on the ground, saying he would not pursue vengeance. He promised to rule with the fear of God. As soon as he left the church, the contrary was the case.”

In response to Fayose’s pleas for forgiveness, Omirin said the G-19 is willing to sheathe their swords but they are uncertain about the sincerity of the governor.

“We know the type of person he is. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t trust him. He says one thing and does the opposite. So, he is not somebody we can trust. I don’t think he is sincere about what he is saying because if he was sincere, what came up in Ekiti State yesterday (Friday) should not have come up again. The entire state was in disarray. The roads were blocked and thugs were everywhere. All the entrances were blocked. Even those bringing in their corpses from Lagos State were asked to open the casket. For what?

We are ready for dialogue too, if he is ready to toe the path of peace. He is the one causing trouble. He is the one that has brought inconvenience to us and our families. He has stopped our salaries and other entitlements. It is not that we don’t want to work with him, but he is the one refusing to allow peace to reign in the state.

If he tries to show remorse, who are we not to forgive him? We don’t have anything to gain by impeaching him. A Yoruba adage says, ‘If you pursued a goat to the wall, the goat has no option than to face you.’ He had pushed us to the wall. Since October, he has not paid our allowances; he has not allowed us to return to the state. Each time we want to come back, he will send thugs just to scare us away. As far as we are concerned, there was no need for that because, in the first instance, we never wanted to quarrel with him. We pledged our loyalty and readiness to work with him. But he thinks the only way he can rule is to subdue the opposition. We have families; we have people who depend on us. He also locked my filling station. That is absolute wickedness. So, if he is ready to change, we will forgive him.”

There is one major term of peace- Fayose will be expected to allow Omirin return as Speaker, while his stooge Dele Olugbemi should vacate the seat.

According to Omirin, this is what is required of the governor, if indeed he wants peace to reign in the state.

“There is no way a seven-member Assembly can sit in the House. It is illegal. They did not form quorum. The constitution is very clear on this. For the Speaker to be impeached in a 26-member house, you need 18 members. He knows what to do. The status quo should be maintained. He should pay the allowances of all members.”

Apparently, the onus is now on Ayo Fayose to the needful and make things right once and for all.