Ekiti officials arrest: Ex best friends, Fayose, Adeyeye fight dirty
The arrest of the two officials serving in the administration of Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has created a rift between the governor and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye.
The EFCC on Thursday arrested the Commissioner for Finance, Chief Toyin Ojo and the State Accountant General, Mrs. Yemi Owolabi for questioning with both still in the custody of the anti-corruption agency.
However on Saturday, Governor Fayose through the Ekiti State PDP Publicity Secretary accused the scribe of abandoning the state chapter to its fate, an allegation Prince Adeyeye stoutly denied.
On the allegations against him, Prince Adeyeye said he owes it to personal integrity to remain truthful at all times on any matter under the sun. He argued that the matter in question has not been brought to the attention of the party leaders, adding that he is not aware neither of the facts of the matter. And until he is brief on what truly happened, Adeyeye said he won’t dent his personal image doling out falsehood to Nigerians in the name of being PDP spokesperson.
Jackson Adebayo, Ekiti State Publicity Secretary had accused Prince Adeyeye of abandoning the commissioners to their fate without hitting the All Progressives Congress (APC) government because he has an axe to grind with the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose over the Governor’s adoption of his Deputy Kolapo Eleka, as the preferred PDP candidate for the 2018 governorship election.
“If Adeyeye, whose duty is to defend our party and its members, cannot speak against the unlawful arrest of officials of the PDP government of his home state, just because the governor did not support his gubernatorial ambition, which PDP-controlled state will he now defend? “Should we then conclude that Adeyeye has constituted himself to an opposition against the PDP government of Ekiti State, even more than the APC, such that he lost his voice when members of his own party were unlawfully arrested by the EFCC and dumped in detention since Thursday?
“Is he happy that officials of Ekiti State government are being harassed by the EFCC? Will Adeyeye be silent as he is now if Governor Fayose had adopted him instead of his deputy, Prof Kolapo Eleka? Should a party spokesperson be so obsessed with his governorship ambition to such an extent that he will no longer be alive to his responsibilities?” queried Jackson. He further said “Adeyeye must have to choose between being the PDP National Publicity Secretary, whose duty is to defend the party and his members and being a governorship aspirant.”
However, Prince Adeyeye said the allegations raised against him are baseless because the governor who should notify the party leadership of the development is yet to do so. “I don’t wish to respond to this statement but for your insistence. I don’t want to be seen exchanging words with someone like Jackson whom I brought into politics in Ekiti State but now doing the bidding of some persons for pecuniary reasons.
“However, I wish to let our party members in Ekiti State know that nobody, neither the governor nor the State Executive in Ekiti state informed the National Caretaker Committee (NCC) of this party of the incident, even though the governor was in Abuja on Thursday. We only read about it like every other Nigerians, when the newspapers published it. “Issues like this are very sensitive and one should be very careful in saying things that circumstances will force one to retract in a matter of minutes. “The most noble and appropriate thing for those involved to have done is to inform the party leadership and give us appropriate briefing on the issue, but when that’s not done, what do you expect? “As an individual who have a name to protect, I won’t stake my integrity delving into issues I have no facts about. I have meritoriously served as Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, I’m an accomplished lawyer and now the spokesman of the PDP, a job I’ve been doing with the collective interest of PDP at heart.
I won’t do away with my personal integrity defending what I have no facts about. “I am not like some of them who jump at issues, condemning without having facts at their disposal and then walking away like a shamed dog have its tail between it’s legs, when their response have been found to be baseless. “I rely on facts and figures before I make conclusions on matters, that is my personal working tool. In the case of the Ekiti commissioners,
I have no facts at my disposal and I won’t bear the blames for their refusal to honour and respect the party leadership by making reports of their challenges as expected from a group of faithful and respectful party members. “As for the insults thrown at me, nothing less is expected from a group of people who have been caged and tutored to be disrespectful to their superiors. I don’t want to say more so that one will not be seen as fighting subordinates who are being disrespectful” he said. Vanguard
