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Shortly after he was sworn-in as governor last month, Fayose ordered the closure of a petrol station in Ado Ekiti giving a standard made-in-Nigeria excuse. That filing station belongs to one Adewale Omirin. Omirin also happens to be the Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly and one of the progressives in the state. Last weekend, Mr Omirin retaliated by promising Fayose a second dose of impeachment before Valentines Day, 2015. Clearly, these two are not lovers. Ayodele Fayose

But the Federal government and Fayose moved in first. 24 hours later, Mr Omirin was impeached by seven House members and a battalion of heavily armed Federal police. I guess when the Peoples Democratic Party promised Ekiti voters more Federal presence in their state they werent kidding.

A few days before that, the judge presiding over a lawsuit looking into Fayoses eligibility to contest the governorship removed himself from the case. His reason? He got a couple of death threats. Ekiti seems determined to keep itself in the news bad news.

Fayoses second coming was always going to play out like this. If you are a dealer in boxing gloves, Id suggest you relocate your business to Ado Ekiti.

Theres no doubt that Ekiti is suffused with redoubtable men and women. But an Ayo Fayose is their governor, for the second time. You could see why there would be tension. But because of that tension, some folks down there are giving the word Progressive a bad meaning.

The first time Fayose called the shots in Ekiti, the place was in a mess, the state became an object of ridicule. But his people wanted him back. He was, surprisingly, their choice as leader. Well, the peoples choice must be respected always. This is one bitter pill, one fact with which the elite and the progressives have got to come to terms and quickly too.

Fronting for the progressives in Ekiti at the moment is a group that christened itself, E11. Immediately after Fayoses victory in June, E11 rushed off to the Press and issued a congratulatory message, pledging to work with Fayose for the progress of the state. Then something funny happened. A few days later, the same E11 recanted. They declared that they will not accept Fayose as governor.

It was the same with the All Progressives Congress (APC). Following his defeat, ex-governor, Fayemi who led that Party in Ekiti promptly announced that he accepted the peoples verdict. Fayemi was rightly hailed as a true democrat and a progressive. However, a few days afterwards, his Party declared that the result of the election was unacceptable and headed to court. All of that, in my view, is sour grapes, and in fact, makes all these folks look bad. The APC might feel that it is doing what an opposition Party is supposed to do after an electoral loss, but at some point, political Parties in Nigeria have to recognise a defeat as just that, congratulate the winner and move on to prepare for other opportunities.

I understand that E11 has been in court challenging Fayoses eligibility to contest, prior to the election. If this was the case, then it was very strange for the same group to congratulate Fayose publicly via a Press statement, only to return to court pushing their case. The whole thing is a joke, and if this is how the progressives practice their trade in Ekiti, you can see why Fayose had an easy victory there.

The Ekiti people have spoken and have (overwhelmingly) made their choice. Thats democracy warts and all. When Fayose drops the ball again (and he will), the same people have the choice and the mechanism to reject him. The current manoeuvrings by the progressives come dangerously close to attempting to override the peoples mandate, and it makes Fayose look like a combative saint. In other words, it stinks and its clumsy. All their exertions now look like class warfare. For all we know, the kerfuffle in the state could be from Fayoses camp or could be emanating from a disgusted and frustrated citizenry who sees what appears like an elite judicial coup against them. Heck, I would be upset too!

See the article here:
Fayose, Ekiti And The Progressives By Michael Egbejumi-David