The Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial
District in the National Assembly, Prince Buruji
Kashamu has condemned what he called the
readiness of the Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose,
to latch on to “any and every issue” to “run his
mouth against” President Muhammadu Buhari,
noting that the Governor’s action “has become
predictable, monotonous and childish”.
He spoke in reaction to Fayose’s recent comment
over the alleged sealing off of the office of the
immediate past governor of Kano State, Senator
Rabiu Kwakwanso, by the police, wondering why
Fayose will drag the President’s name into the
matter.
Media reports had it that the police recently
sealed off Kwakwanso’s office in Kano where his
supporters were believed to be planning to stage a
mass wedding.
Fayose reacted to this by saying: “When they
invaded the Akwa Ibom State Government House
with armed men of the Department of State
Security (DSS), I raised alarm then and I did warn
that Nigeria was being returned to 1984 when
President Buhari ruled the country like a
maximum ruler.
“When I said Nigerians irrespective of their
political parties should rise in condemnation of
the President Buhari’s government emerging
dictatorship, many of our friends in the APC opted
to keep silent. Some even hailed the Department
of State Security (DSS) when the service invaded
the Ekiti State House of Assembly and abducted a
member of the House.”
But in a statement issued on Friday in Lagos,
Kashamu averred that Fayose lacked the
temperament and credentials to counsel anyone
on democracy and the Rule of Law, noting that “it
was common knowledge that Kwakwanso and his
successor, the Governor of Kano State, Dr.
Abdullahi Ganduje have some political differences
which bother on ego and leadership of the APC in
the state even while they are members of the
same party”.
The lawmaker went on to say: “Now, how does
that concern the President? It was too cheap for
Fayose to latch on that to run his mouth against
the President and Commander-in-Chief of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. His constant bashing
of the President on any and every issue or incident
has become predictable, monotonous and
childish.
“It is high time he realized that the elections are
over and the President is the leader of all. If
anyone seeks to denigrate him, he is not just
rubbishing the symbol of our sovereignty but the
entire country and its people.
“Like I have often said some of those making the
noise are doing so for selfish reasons. Fayose was
the loudest in criticizing the Federal Government’s
anti-corruption until it was revealed that he
benefitted from the arms fund and got a lot of
kickbacks from contracts in Ekiti State. The need to
launder his squalid image is understandable but a
pot does not get scrubbed clean of soot because it
is audacious enough to call a kettle black.”
The lawmaker urged Nigerians to continue the
push for the abolition of immunity clause so that
all those found to have looted our commonwealth
can face the consequences of their action,
stressing that “Immunity clause should not be
used as a shield for delinquents in executive
positions.”
The statement reads in part, “It is said that the law
of equity is the law of conscience and those who
seek equity must do equity. To be an advocate for
other people’s rights, you must yourself guarantee
and respect the rights of others. Fayose’s posture
as a latter-day human rights activist and advocate
for the Rule of Law distorts the authenticity of civil
rights advocacy because his political trail is
muddied by his inglorious acts of lawlessness,
impunity and flagrant disregard for the Rule of
Law and democracy.
“His crass lawlessness, impunity and flagrant
disregard for democracy and the Rule of Law are
at the roots of the leadership crisis rocking the
PDP instead of the pretence that the Federal
Government and the All Progressives Congress
(APC) are behind it. They have their own issues
which they are addressing and so do not have
time for our intra-party wrangling.”
“The nation will not forget how he belligerently
hampered the courts in Ekiti State when some
persons instituted a matter against him at the Ekiti
State High Court in the build up to his election in
2014.
“Many of his benefactors and indigenes of Ekiti
State are still squirming from the sting of his high-
handedness and betrayal.
“You cannot give what you do not have and a man
who is himself guilty of a human rights violation,
lawlessness and impunity cannot become a judge,
jury and crusader for any advocacy for the sanctity
of the law. He is merely playing to the gallery,” it
added.