N4.7 Billion Fraud: Ekiti Protesters Demand Governor Fayose’s Resignation, Back Buhari’s Anti-Corruption Policy

 

Thousands of protesters on Thursday stormed the major streets of Ado-Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti State, calling for the immediate resignation of Governor Ayodele Fayose on account of his involvement in a N4.7 billion fraud and corruption case under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The protesters, who were mostly residents of the  state, also voiced support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s war against all forms of corruption in the country. Students, youths, commercial drivers, artisans, and traders took place in today’s protests alongside members of civil society organizations as they hoisted placards and walked through Fajuyi Park to Ejigbo junction chanting anti-corruption messages.


Some leaders of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) in Ekiti State led many of the protesters, our correspondent noted.
Addressing the protesters, Kemisola Olaleye, the Ekiti State APC deputy chairperson, said the residents of the state were tired of the Fayose-led government, accusing the governor of using immunity to shield himself from his acts of impunity.

“We are tired of the one day, one problem of [the] Ayodele Fayose-led administration in Ekiti State and we also don’t want him as our governor [anymore],” said Ms. Olaleye. She added, “We are raising our support for President Muhammadu Buhari for his war against corruption.”

Taiwo Olatubosun, the Ekiti APC’s publicity secretary, urged the EFCC to further beam its searchlight on Governor Fayose’s governance of Ekiti State. “It is obvious that the anti-graft agency is only talking about Fayose’s account in Zenith Bank, but we have it on good authority that his account in Access Bank contains much more than what they discovered in Zenith Bank,” he said. He also alleged that the governor’s account at Skye Bank contains a larger deposit than what the EFCC found at Zenith Bank, insisting that all the deposits came from state funds.

 “Last week, Governor Fayose moved money from Access Bank with three vehicles at about 8 p.m.,” Mr. Olatubosun further alleged. He urged agents of the EFCC to “investigate all these things as Ekiti has become a house of fraud under Fayose.” He vowed that the APC would continue to resist all forms of immunity by Mr. Fayose’s administration in the state.

Mr. Olatubosun claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), under the direction of Governor Fayose, had concluded plans to recruit thugs from neighboring Ondo and Oyo state for a rally against President Buhari on Friday.

Speaking at today’s rally, Olaoluwa Samuel, the contact and mobilization leader of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in Ekiti State, called on the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies in the country to thoroughly probe Mr. Fayose’s administration.

An official of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) in Ekiti State asked Mr. Fayose to submit himself for investigation regarding the N4.7 billion reportedly released by the Office of the National Security Adviser in 2014 to fund the governor’s election. The CNPP also demanded that the members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly accused of certificate forgery should submit themselves for prosecution by the anti-graft agency.

In a press statement released at today’s protests, the CNPP asked Mr. Fayose to offer state residents an account of how he spent N1.5 billion to acquire property in Abuja and Lagos.