Why we shunned peace meeting with Fayose, Ekiti elders – APC Lawmakers

APC-FayoseThe 19 aggrieved All Progressives Congress members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly yesterday said they shunned the peace meeting brokered by Chief Afe Babalola and other elders of the state because they believe Governor Ayo Fayose was not ready to have the crisis resolved once and for all.

The lawmakers particularly expressed angst with the security arrangement of 200 policemen said to have been provided to protect them into and out of Ado-Ekiti which, in their opinion, had given away the motive of the meeting.

The APC lawmakers wondered why the peace effort would include provision of security to escort them out of the state instead of escorting them to the House of Assembly, which has been under lock and key, to continue their legislative duties.

The lawmakers’ position was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by Wole Olujobi, Special Adviser (Media) to the Speaker, Dr. Adewale Omirin.

The statement noted that the APC lawmakers’ resolve on the rule of law and defence of the Constitution should not be subsumed under the need to pay them their entitlements which was one of the resolutions agreed at the meeting.

They said: “We cannot hold any meeting on the basis of monetary settlement in isolation of the consideration of the constitutional breaches by the governor.

“It is amazing that the truce terms will not include resumption of our duties‎, but just to settle us monetarily and escorting us out of Ekiti State”.

Faulting the entire arrangement for the meeting, the lawmakers wondered why the governor was announcing the peace meeting intermittently on the state media while secretly mobilising Peoples Democratic Party members from the 16 local government areas in the state to storm the Afe Babalola University, ABUAD, venue of the meeting.

“What is this all about if not coded incitement for mob attacks?” the lawmakers queried‎.

They also insisted that the security agents told them in clear terms that they could not guarantee their security and warned them against passing through the streets of Ado-Ekiti to the venue of the meeting‎.