A former member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly on the platform of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Omoniyi Ajaja, has slammed Governor Ayodele Fayose for threatening the new PDP members in the assembly with “political death” if they attempt to betray him.
He said the governor’s boast that PDP legislators who participated in his 2006 impeachment were dead politically was empty, pointing out that many among those who supported his removal at the time later went on to hold prominent political positions while others were doing very well in their various private callings.
It would be recalled that Gov. Fayose had warned the new lawmakers at their inauguration last Friday that: “Impeach me, risk political death, those that impeached me in 2006 had died politically today”.
Faulting the governor’s claim in a chat with newsmen on Tuesday, Ajaja said he was a former member of the Second Assembly, a Chief Whip, yet he remained one of the pillars of Ekiti State politics today.
“I am still very active and alive to political issues not only in Ekiti but also in Nigeria as a whole. Likewise majority of the Assembly men that served at that time are equally still relevant in the politics of the state”, he explained.
The former lawmaker said Gov. Fayose ought to be reminded that the House of Assembly remains an arm of government which enjoys its independence like the Judiciary and the Executive, explaining that it is the constitutional duty of the Legislature to keep the Executive on its toes to check its excesses.
“If any governor is found wanting in the discharge of his constitutional duties, it is the duty of the Legislature to checkmate him.
“The governor’s statement last week during the inauguration of the sixth Assembly that those that impeached him in 2006 had died politically is uncalled for, especially coming from an elected governor. He should be reminded that each of the Assembly men represents his/her constituency and that they are equally elected like the governor”, he said.
He added: “Since 2006, some of the lawmakers that participated in the impeachment had held various positions in other administrations which came after Fayose. Politics should be seen to be dynamic and not a business of an individual as being displayed by Mr. Fayose.
“Only members of the Fifth Assembly in Ekiti State who the governor claims are his stooges and that the assembly is an extension of the Governor’s office may find it extremely difficult to call him to order anytime he commits constitutional breaches”.