Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State has come out to question the motive behind the sudden support the All Progressives Congress (APC) are giving the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega given that the opposition party leaders had called for his sack in 2014.
Speaking via a statement issued on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose tasked Nigerians to ask APC leaders like Bola Ahmed Tinubu and General Muhammadu Buhari what changed in the credibility of Jega which has warranted their sudden concern as to whether he will be sent on terminal leave.
The statement read: “Nigerians must ask Buhari, Tinubu and other APC leaders, who led street protest against Jega, carrying placards with inscriptions such as ‘INEC not fit to conduct 2015 election’, ‘2015: No hope with Jega,’ what has changed about Jega’s credibility.
“Has the same Jega that they said cannot conduct the 2015 elections ceased from being a bad person? APC lost the Anambra election and took to the streets in Abuja, calling for Jega’s head. Is the INEC boss now doing their biddings because the APC will only stand against any individual or organisation that refused to be corrupted?
“No doubt, the hullaballoo of the APC and its agents concerning Jega’s position is suspect.”
Governor Fayose further took a swipe at former Governor of Ekiti State, Kola Fayemi, whom he beat at the polls, saying that the APC chieftain had no moral right to kick against Jega’s sack given his antecedence of firing government appointees.
He said: “It is laughable that the same Fayemi who, as Ekiti State governor sacked the Vice Chancellor and two Deputy Vice Chancellors of the State University, as well as Chairmen and members of statutory commissions is the one sermonising about legality or otherwise of asking Jega to proceed on terminal leave.
“Fayemi, as governor sacked democratically elected Local Council chairmen and councillors… Chief Adeleye Awolumate [died] in the process of enforcing his illegal action. He sacked the Ekiti State University Vice Chancellor, Prof Dipo Kolawole via radio announcement, and dissolved statutory boards and commissions. Even when Courts ruled that his actions were illegal and unconstitutional, he refused to reinstate them.
“Isn’t it shameful and hypocritical that the same Fayemi is the one saying his party was fighting against the move to remove Jega because it amounted to breach of the law?”
