That Distasteful Attack On Pastor Adeboye

By Bolaji Tunji.

Today’s piece is going to be dedicated to readers of this column, to reflect their reactions. But before I go into that, there is a particular  issue that I feel so strongly about that would not wait till next week. It is the attack on Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) during a recent visit to Ekiti state shortly before the Christmas celebration. He had made a statement that other governors should emulate the Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose in the way he had stood up to defend his people.

*Pastor Adeboye 

“Your Excellency, we thank God for your life, courage, boldness and being willing to take the risk so that your people can be protected and I know you know what I am talking about. You can be sure that we are praying for you and you will succeed.‎ I hope other governors will stand for their people like you and defend their people and say enough is enough‎.” 

This seemingly innocuous endorsement of the governor opened a whole floodgates of attacks against the man of God. The All Progressives Congress (APC) threw the first jab when it disrespectfully asserted that the governor must have bribed Pastor Adeboye for the endorsement.

As much as I do not want to make a case on the propriety or otherwise of the statement by the respected pastor, I think the APC took criticism of the governor too far with the statement. I am not a member of the Redeem church and I have never met the highly respected cleric, this does not however mean that he has not impacted positively in the lives of many Nigerians and non-Nigerians across the world.

Fayose And The Re-Emergence Of PDP In The South-West

By Sola Adetola

The appointment of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State as chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum is a good development. First, he earned it as the most senior state governor of the PDP extraction in the present dispensation. Secondly, according to Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, who announced the appointment, Fayose deserved it as a committed party man. No one can fault this claim.

*Gov Fayose 

The position gives Fayose the privilege to coordinate the activities of the Governors Forum and work with other party structures to uplift the party. It is a weighty responsibility thrust upon his shoulders at a time the party is struggling to overcome leadership challenges and the concomitant fractionalization and disorientation the crisis had plunged its members into in most parts of the country.

Fortunately, Fayose himself is not unfamiliar with the leadership tussle that has torn the party apart. He was part of the genesis of the crisis, being one of the principal actors who foisted ex-governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff on the party as acting national chairman, despite the fears raised by notable stakeholders, including the board of trustees of the party. Sadly, he and his collaborators in the scheme were unable to curb the man when he engineered a power play that became volatile. The resultant conflagration has defied political solution and the party now seeks refuge in a judicial resolution. Fayose should learn something from that to guide him in his new call to duty.

Another party issue that Fayose needs to draw lessons from was his alleged role in yet another contrivance to impose a relatively new member of the party and former governorship candidate in Lagos State, Jimi Agbaje, as national chairman of the party in very controversial circumstances, at the botched national convention of the party in Port Harcourt, in August last year.

This move did not go down well with the stakeholders of the party from the South-West as they had already endorsed a consensus candidate at their meeting in Akure, Ondo State, in the person of Chief Olabode George. The subsequent disenfranchisement of most of the delegates from the zone, with the exception of Ekiti State delegates, at the convention ground left members feeling betrayed and convinced that Fayose was pursuing a separate agenda against the collective will of the majority in the zone.

Herdsmen Menace: Action And Reaction In Ekiti

By Amanze Obi

Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State has taken the bull by the horns. Some three months ago, I had cause in this column to commend him for standing up to be counted among men. The governor had then charged at the Fulani herdsmen, who murdered two indigenes of Ekiti State on Ekiti soil in the name of grazing. For Fayose, that brigandage and effrontery from the herdsmen was unacceptable. In a momentary fit of anger, the governor announced that cattle grazing had been banned in Ekiti State.

*Gov Ayo Fayose

However, after the initial outburst, Fayose retreated into his shell. Three months after, he has resurfaced with something more enduring; something that carries the force of law. The state House of Assembly has passed a bill regulating cattle grazing in the state. The bill, which was signed into law a few days ago by Governor Fayose, seeks to check the excesses and criminality of Fulani herdsmen, who have become the latest monster in Nigeria.

Under the grazing law, any herdsman caught with arms while grazing will be charged with terrorism. The law has also ruled out indiscriminate and uncontrolled grazing. Government has allocated certain portions of land to the local government councils for grazing activities. The time allowed for grazing is 7am to 6pm daily. Anybody found grazing on portions of land not allocated by government for such activity will be made to face the wrath of the law. There are other provisions of the law all of which seek to ensure that grazing is devoid of any form of criminality.

I commend the Fayose example. It is practical governance in action. It mirrors Isaac Newton’s third law of motion, which teaches that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In pure physics, it means that in every interaction, there is a pair of forces acting on the two interacting objects. If we wean this Newtonian postulation of its scientific barbs, we will be left with an interventionist policy action that interprets and defines our situation.

Today in Nigeria, we are faced with a situation where everybody is scared stiff of a lethal object called AK47. Everybody is complaining that the Fulani herdsmen are wielding this weapon indiscriminately. But nobody has stopped to ask questions about how they acquire them. Why and how does the Fulani herdsman have free and unfettered access to sophisticated weapons of war? Many suspect that the herdsman is armed by the many retired military officers of northern extraction, who own the cows that he roams about with. If this is the case, we also need to ask questions about how the retired officers acquire the guns. In a situation where the Nigeria Police does not have sufficient guns to operate with, it beats the imagination that herdsmen can boast of large cache of arms that battalions of soldiers cannot boast of. This is strange, indeed.

The fact that nobody is after the herdsman and his criminality rankles the more. Why is he such a sacred cow? Why have the camps and hideouts of the herdsmen not been invaded by security agencies with a view to making arrests and dispossessing them of the dangerous weapons they wield?  This question is reinforced by the fact that we are all living witnesses to the intolerance of our security forces. They do not tolerate the unarmed Biafran agitator. He is killed freely for stepping out in the streets to protest. What about the Niger Delta agitator? He is the implacable enemy of the state.  He must be mowed down by the security agents wherever he is found.

Fayose And Nigeria’s Immunity Scandal

By Okey Ndibe

Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has a solid claim to the title of politician par excellence of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. In many ways, the man symbolises the idiosyncrasies, texture and other pathological characteristics of the high-priced, frustrating experiment that goes by the name of democracy in Nigeria.

*Gov Fayose 

His storied political career has involved a controversy over his academic credentials. It is ironic that questions were – perhaps –  are raised about the educational training of a man who presides over Ekiti State – a state with one of the highest PhD degrees per capita in Nigeria. During his short-lived first stint as governor – from 2003 to 2006 – Mr. Fayose was accused of several crimes, including massive theft of public resources and ordering a murder. He left office in disgrace, impeached by a state legislature that was under pressure from then President Olusegun Obasanjo. The US government once had cause to revoke visas issued to him and members of his immediate family. He is as brash as they come, a bolekaja brand of politician, who takes no prisoners.

At a public function in Osun State in 2014, Mr. Fayose traded insults with his nemesis, Mr. Obasanjo. He had ignored the former president while greeting other “dignitaries.” Not one to recoil from making a spectacle of himself, Mr. Obasanjo demanded to be greeted. “I won’t greet you. You are bad person! I don’t greet bad people!” exclaimed Mr. Fayose.

“You are a bastard,” an irate Obasanjo railed.
“You are a father of bastards!” Mr. Fayose countered. And he wasn’t done yet. He threw a few more verbal punches at Mr. Obasanjo, accusing him of wrecking the PDP in the southwest.

In 2014, Mr. Fayose signaled a desire to return to the office from which he was ignominiously sacked in 2006. As he sought the PDP’s governorship ticket, some political pundits thought it was a long shot. After he secured the ticket, the consensus among political talking heads was that he would not be competitive against then Governor Kayode Fayemi, an articulate PhD owner. Shunning the incumbent governor’s air of sophistication and emphasis on matters of policy, Candidate Fayose refined a pragmatic political message calculated to resonate with the voters’ gullets. He dismissed his opponent’s accent on developing infrastructure in the state. What the people needed above all, he insisted, was “stomach infrastructure.” He had introduced an ingenious new term into Nigeria’s political lexicon.

I confess to being among those who gave Mr. Fayose little chance of winning the governorship. His rustic, charming gift for words would carry him only so far, but certainly far short of the gubernatorial goal. I reckoned, as some others did, that the man’s past would doom his quest.

Fayose Vs. The Caliphate’s MACBAN And Their Fake Constitution

By Chinweizu

280516

Sundoor999@gmail.com 

Gov. Ayodele Fayose has emerged as the Champion of the Nigerian people. He is the knight in shining armor who has ridden forth to challenge the organized crime syndicate that goes by the name MACBAN: the criminal organization that has been making human sacrifices to the Caliphate’s Cattle.

---------------------

The MACBAN crime syndicate recently boasted that

No one can stop us from grazing in the south — Fulani herdsmen

http://www.punchng.com/no-one-can-stop-us-grazing-south-fulani-herdsmen/  May 1, 2016

Three weeks later, their bluff was called when

Fayose makes history, bans cattle grazing in Ekiti

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/203917-breaking-fayose-makes-history-bans-cattle-grazing-ekiti.html  May 23, 2016 Press Release

--------------------------------

A battle royal is about to begin. Every Nigerian has to choose a side: The Caliphate’s or Fayose’s.

Every lackey of the Caliphate can be expected to line up behind MACBAN.

But every Nigerian who is concerned about the safety of his farm, home, people or person; and who wants protection from the marauding Fulani herdsmen and Fulani Militia, now knows what to do about that menace: rally behind Faoyse and demand that the governor of your state should act like Gov. Fayose and ban all cattle movement in your state and back it by state legislation. You should hold rallies, pass resolutions, publish petitions calling on your state Gov. to do like Fayose. Let the voices of the people ring out loud and clear throughout the land. Fayose is our hero. Our national leader. The leader of our movement to resist the Caliphate and its criminal MACBAN ritual of human sacrifice!

Petrol Price Hike: Buhari’s 1st Year Anniversary Gift To Nigerians

By Ayodele Fayose

Despite his electoral promise to reduce petrol pump price from the N87 per litre that he met it, President Muhammadu Buhari increased the price to N145! With this increment, Buhari has further impoverished Nigerians. Buhari Nigerians should be reminded that on April 14, 2015, President Buhari’s ally and former Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Prof. Tam David-West, told Nigerians that Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (who was then President-elect), will reduce the fuel pump price from N87 to N40 per litre. Buhari did not debunk this statement made by his friend and major supporter.

*Gov Fayose 

Also, when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government of Dr Goodluck Jonathan reduced the petrol pump price from N97 to N87 per litre in January 2015, former Lagos State Governor who is now Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola said N10 reduction of the petrol pump price was too low and that Nigerians will get a better deal under Buhari. Fashola tweeted on January 18, 2015; “On PMS price reduction by N10. Now they listen. Oil the raw material drop over 50%, N10 is just about 10%. Good try but Nija can get a beta deal.” In rewarding Nigerians for electing him as president, President Buhari opted to increase petrol pump price by N58.50! The first justification of the increment was removal of subsidy. But Nigerians were later stunned when the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo said pump price of petrol was increased because Nigeria was broke!

In other words, President Buhari increased petrol pump price because the country was broke and it needed to shore up its revenue base. The N58.50 added to the previous pump price of N86.50 was an Indirect Tax imposed on each litre of petrol purchased by Nigerians. Simply put, the Federal Government is indirectly collecting N58.50 naira tax from suffering Nigerians on each litre of petrol they buy. Buhari is no doubt acting like the proverbial Agbalowomeri Baale Jontolo (A king that exploit his extremely poor subject to further enrich himself).

It is on record that on May 2 this year, the federal government, in the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) Template released in Abuja, told Nigerians that it was subsidizing petrol at N12.62 per litre. In 2012, when the Dr Jonathan administration removed fuel subsidy and increased petrol price to N141 per litre, crude oil was selling at $111 per barrel. If not wickedness, how can petrol price be increased to N145 per litre when crude oil is now selling at $49 per barrel? Increasing petrol pump price by N58.50 when the federal government claimed it was subsidising the product at N12.62 per litre is clear wickedness on the part of President Buhari.

Petrol Price Increment: FG Insensitive To Nigerians’ Plight – Fayose

PRESS RELEASE 

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has condemned the increment from N86.50 to N145 of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol, describing it as insensitive and demonstration of the level of hatred the President Mohammadu Buhari led All Progressives Congress (APC) government has for Nigerians.

*Gov Ayo Fayose 

The governor, who said the over 70 per cent increment was another vindication of his predictions on what to expect in 2016, added that it was now clear that the scarcity of petrol being experienced in the last three months was deliberately orchestrated by the federal government to pave way for the already conceived increment.

According to his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said “Nigerians are now left at the mercy of political liars who took over power by deception and are governing by deceit.”

He said he was waiting for the reaction of those who took to the streets to protest when fuel subsidy was removed by the Dr Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2012, urging labour unions in the country to stand by their members always, not minding the political party in government.

He said: “When they were seeking for votes from Nigerians, they promised to reduce petrol pump price to from N87 to N45 per litre, they promised to create three million jobs per year, they said $1 will be equal to N1 and above all, they promised to pay unemployed youths N5, 000 stipend and provide one meal a day to pupils nationwide.

“Instead of fulfilling their promises, they have increased petrol pump price to N145 per litre, increased electricity tariffs, retrenched thousands of workers and imposed untold hardships on Nigerians.

“As they did in 2012, if labour leaders do not also stand up for the people at this time, posterity will not forgive them.”

Between Panama Rats & The Ekiti Fool

By Louis Odion

Besides its entertainment value, another use the unfolding Panama Papers scandal evidently serves providing us a barometer to gauge the shame index across the universe. Shame is no sign of weakness, mind you. When evinced timeously, it brings out honour. Shame speaks to an inner strength to recoil in the admission that violence had been done to the normative value that defines society; hence the penitent cessation of that course of action. 

*Fayose and Aluko

What is despicable, let it be noted, is shamelessness. To become dishonorable is to lose the sense of shame. The freer a society is, the more leaders would then appear predisposed to show shame when caught pants down.

But in a closed society, they live in denial, thus forfeiting the chance of self-redemption.

The nobility in shame would be demonstrated Tuesday when Iceland's Prime Minister, Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, resigned once leaks linked him to the infamy of Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm specializing in helping world celebrities and politically-exposed persons to either launder fortunes or shield investments from tax. The PM and his wife owned an offshore company registered by the Panamanian firm to conceal million dollars worth of family assets. Their shell company, Wintris, had significant investments in the bonds of three major Icelandic banks that collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis.

Long before an angry mob of Icelanders began to occupy the parliament's gate, Gunnlaugsson did the honorable thing in the circumstance by throwing in the towel.

Elsewhere in London, Prime Minister David Cameron practically turned himself in for thorough body search at the British parliament Tuesday. He had to reveal personal secrets to prove he had nothing to do with his dad's shell company exposed by the Panama Papers. 

Addressing a charged chamber, he listed all his earthly possessions to include "My salary, of course, the house we lived in before moving to 10 Downing Street (which now yields additional income as rent) and savings I've from which I earn interests."

Though the details of their own dealing are no more graphic than those of the Icelandic and British leaders, Russian and Chinese authorities have expectedly been in denial. The Panama Papers listed Russian President Vladimir Putin's friends as operating dozens of companies through which billions of dollars had been laundered. Moscow's response? It conveniently dismissed the reports as another show of "Putin-phobia"! No further comment. 

Chibok Girls Not Missing –Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Wednesday declared that no pupil was abducted by Boko Haram from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

Over 200 pupils of the school were reportedly abducted in 2014 by the terror group.

The governor said the report was politically motivated to influence public opinion against the Goodluck Jonathan administration ahead of the 2015 general elections.

Fayose spoke while declaring open a two-day workshop on “Political Aspirants Capacity Enhancement” organised by Women Arise for Change Initiative. It was organised for women from Ekiti, Osun and Ondo states.

He said, “Today, many opposition leaders are underground. I don’t think any of these girls is missing; it is a political strategy. Who is fooling who? If you wanted to use it to remove some people, you have succeeded already.

“I don’t know if there are missing girls but no indication has shown that. It is a political strategy, because I don’t think any girl is missing. If they are missing, let them find them.”

 

*Gov Fayose 

The governor also took a swipe at ‪#‎BringBackOurGirls campaigners, saying some of them are using it to look for appointments.

He lamented that human rights groups had decided to keep quite since President Muhammadu Buhari came on board.

Fayose said, “I’m concerned about the activities of human rights groups. Today the government of the day is obeying court order of their choice, while human rights are not respected.

“We must talk about government providing cover for criminals. You are now using that person to harass innocent person. You will never have peace when you hide justice.”

He added, “Police came into town yesterday (Tuesday) to arrest political opponents. If you like, demonise me, I will demonise you. I don’t need the police and the SSS (Department of State Services) to walk in my state. It is when you are not popular that you walk with police.

“Any government that rises against me, that government will come down. I’m Peter the rock. By engaging me, you make me more popular and relevant and then court sympathy. I’m one person that is going places. That is why all these challenges are against me.”

I Won't Stop Criticizing Buhari’s Bad Policies – Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, on Wednesday said he would not stop criticizing the Federal Government over its bad policies despite the recent clamp down on state officials by men of the Department of State Security (DSS).

*Fayose 

The governor, who arrived the state from Abuja where he had been since Sunday to attend PDP meeting, said no policy of the FG that is inimical to the welfare of the people would be spared by his comments.

According to a press statement issued by the Governor's Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, Fayose who was reacting to the development for the first time since DSS officials invaded the House of Assembly Complex, Ado-Ekiti and whisked four lawmakers away said he remained resolute in his determination to criticise obnoxious policies of the president in the interest of Nigeria and our democracy.

The Commissioner for Finance, Chief Toyin Ojo, was also arrested by DSS officers but was released late Tuesday night.

"The Bible says people with God are in majority. This is not the first time people will harass me. It is a conspiracy and it will collapse like other attempts before it. I will remain critical of the activities of the Federal Government, especially when they do things that are inimical to the welfare of Nigerians.

"Imagine the questions they asked my Commissioner for Finance, they asked him if the Federal Government has reimbursed the state government on works done on federal roads. But the records are with them in Abuja, can't they check? We have nothing to hide and they are only chasing shadows and are time wasters.

Buhari, APC Duped Nigerians - Fayose

APC Leaders: Tinubu, Buhari and Oyegun 

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), duped Nigerians by obtaining their votes by trick, declaring that; “Everything Buhari and his party promised Nigerians when they were looking for votes, they have denied and it won’t be a surprise if one day, Buhari comes out to even deny that he was elected on the platform of APC.”

The governor described Buhari’s declaration that he would not pay the N5, 000 stipend he promised to unemployed youths in the country and Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed’s claim that creation of three million jobs per year was not promised by the APC as the peak of political 419 that the President and his party represent.

He said; “They have not fulfilled any of the promises they made to Nigerians. In fact, they have even told us that they never made any promise. It is close to one year that Buhari assumed office; no single job has been created. Instead of the three million jobs per year that they promised, what we have been witnessing is job losses, economic hardship and budget padding”

Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said it was more worrisome that President Buhari always choses foreign lands to make major policy pronouncements, asking whether Buhari has turned himself to Nigeria’s Diaspora or Online President. 

Each Of Buhari’s Foreign Trips Costs 1$Million – Fayose

...Buhari’s Unnecessary Trips The Bleeding Economy”

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has counselled President Muhammadu Buhari to stay at home and govern the country instead of junketing from one country to the other, saying; “foreign countries won’t solve our problems for us and the President’s incessant foreign trips is already bleeding the economy with about $1 million being spent per trip.”

The governor, who said most of the trips embarked on by the President were unnecessary, added that ministers or at best the Vice President could have been made to attend most of the functions being attended abroad by the President.

According to a statement issued in Ado-Ekiti by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said that “the President should rather listen more to those of us who criticise him instead of those hailing every of his wrong steps either because of what they intend to gain or for fear of persecution.”

The statement read; “Conservatively, about $1 million goes into every of the foreign trips and the way the President is going, foreign trips alone might gulp 20 percent of the Federal Government budget and that will be disastrous for the dwindling economy of the country.

Buhari: A Dictator Will Always Be A Dictator – Fayose

Press Release 

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has described the return to power of President Mohammadu Buhari as a misadventure for Nigerians, calling on the international community, especially organisations like the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) to focus their attention on human rights abuses and contempt for the rule of law in Nigeria in 2016.”

Governor Fayose, who said he was not disappointed by the President’s response during his media chat, to question on the disobedient of court orders by the Department of State Security (DSS), added that he had said it several times that once a dictator will always be a dictator and that those who helped him to power will end up in his goal of dictatorship.

In a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor said he was aware of plot to muzzle him and others considered as non-conformists because of their opinion and critical stance on the President and his government, adding that; “such plot will definitely be counterproductive.”

APC Thieves Only Come To Steal And Kill – Gov Fayose

*Fayose 

Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has raised the alarm that Nigeria under President Buhari was fast becoming a shame, describing the failed attempt by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to manipulate the Bayelsa State governorship election as clear invitation to anarchy. The governor, who said it was shameful that the two elections conducted by INEC under Buhari’s kinsman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu were inconclusive, called on all well-meaning Nigerians and the international community to rise up in condemnation of the APC government’s plot to destroy democracy in the country.

Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose who said everything under Buhari was becoming inconclusive, added that; “If in three days, INEC could not conduct credible election in Bayelsa State of just eight local governments, one wonders what will happen during the general elections in 2019.