The declaration of the of the state of emergency in Ekiti State by president Obasanjo was the culmination of deceit and perfidy, a trait for which the president had become well versed in recent times. Saharareporters can now reveal that Obasanjo never wanted the Governor Fayose of Ekiti State impeached despite serious allegations of corruption and murder brought against the governor and his deputy. Rather he was interested in the impeachment of other state governors-namely: Orji Kalu of Abia, Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State, Governor Sanni of Zamfara, Peter Obi of Anambra (contrary to PDP’s public posture) and importantly, Governor Dariye of Plateau State. The plots had been sealed and were going on as planned when Obasanjo received more pressures from his personal lawyer, Chief Afe Bablola to “do something” about Fayose in Ekiti State especially as all indications pointed to Fayose as the killer of PDP gubernatorial candidate, Ayo Daramola.
Chief Afe Babalola, Saharareporters was told, was not getting Obasanjo enough of Obasanjo’s ears, but the EFCC was interested and had been assisted by some notable Ekiti indigenes in Lagos to help reach out to the state legislators who themselves had become entangled in corruption investigations with the EFCC over the way they handled their “constituency project funds” as well as two foreign trips to which they were sponsored by Governor Fayose. Yet these ongoing efforts did not move president Obasanjo who was said to be more concerned about installing his stooges in states around Nigeria in the 2007 elections.
Everything, however changed when embattled VP Atiku began to release PTDF cheques and those of the MOFAS account. The president became bogged down by his own mortality, politically speaking, which allowed the EFCC to dig in on Governor Fayose. At this point, Fayose was said to have ran around like a rain-drenched chicken, he found solace in the trio of Chief Bode George, PDP Chair, Ahmadu Ali and the Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero and they secured ‘assurances’ from the president that he will not abandon Fayose to the ‘wolves’ in Ekiti State. Obasanjo was said to have called on some Ekiti indigenes in the opposition to let Fayose’s tenure run its course until May 2007, after which he will not be allowed to run for another term. The president was quoted to have immediately quipped that there is “another candidate for the position of governor from his side, Mr. Osuntokun” whom “Baba” had just retrieved from political wilderness at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) where Osuntokun had been MD since the end of the 2003 April elections that saw him working hard to re-install Obasanjo.
Osuntokun had complained that he was not accorded the position commensurate with his contributions to the re-election of Obasanjo in 2003. “He obviously thought he could become minister” said a source but Baba as Obasanjo is fondly called by his admirers, always felt that Osuntokun was mostly hot air going by the lousy way he ran his campaign office in 2003.
Back to Ekiti State where EFCC went into high gear in booting out Fayose, our sources revealed that the killer punch against Fayose came when Obasanjo was shown a video tape made by the SSS of Fayose smacking his lips and joking around over Obasanjo’s third term agenda. A source privy to the release of this “movie” said Obasanjo was furious and quietly left the place where the video tape was shown. He (Obasanjo) then called on his lawyer that he has approved of Fayose’s removal, saying he doesn’t want to play any open role but before he did that he requested more evidence from the SSS about his involvement in murderous activities. Sources said the tape which was allegedly in the possession of the owners of Channels Television; an independent Lagos based private TV owned by former NTA newscaster, John Momoh was never made available to Obasanjo. He then put his special aide on household matters, Mr. Bodunde Adeyanju in charge of of Fayose’s impeachment. Bodunde thereafter began working with various persons from an array of opposition groups in Ekiti State- at this point consolidated into one- to unseat Fayose from the government house in Ekiti State. But he never bargained for what came in terms of resistance by Chief Bode George, Ahmadu Alli and the Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero to whom Fayose had become ‘large hearted’ and generous with Ekiti State funds. Another source also said, there had been a brewing war between the political wing of Aso Rock led by Anthony Anenih, Chief Bode George, Ahmadu Ali and the “pseudo-military wing led by Nasir El-Rufai( largely composed of members of the Economic Management Team) as they battle for the control of obasanjo’s mind, and they saw Ekiti State as a “theatre’ to test their power. Chief Bode George resistance against the impeachment he cooked up a “cock and bull story” about the intention of Mr. Femi Falana, lawyer and human rights activist and some Ekiti indigenes to use Ekiti State as a launch-pad for a “revolution” against the PDP in Nigeria, urging the president never to allow that to happen. They got the IG to send in intelligence reports about Femi Falana’s background and described him as a “dangerous person”.
Obasanjo didn’t appear swayed; though he shared those sentiments, he too had always felt Femi Falana wasn’t to be trusted in Ekiti State or anywhere in Nigeria because of his antecedents. Obasanjo and Femi Falana both had a long history, apart from being Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s lawyer, Femi Falana worked with Wole Soyinka to thwart Obasanjo’s bid to become the first African –born secretary general of the United Nations and he never forgave them for doing so.
Saharareporters sources said Obasanjo was carried along at every turn of the planning and the execution of the events in Ekiti State. His interest peaked when it became obvious that he could move against Dariye in Plateau State, he was excited and played along on the “Ekiti Plan” for as long as “Plateau State Plot” sailed smoothly, somehow the Plateau State plot ran into a ditch, as greater resistance prevailed in Plateau State from Dariye and his crew members. They had grown more contemptuous of Obasanjo because, according to their spokesperson, “because of the way he was protecting Senator Ibrahim Mantu and shielding him from investigations on corruption allegations at the national assembly and the pilgrimage council for which he was indicted by a national assembly panel”. They mobilized young people to thwart the “Plateau Plot” and hence president Obasanjo returned to Ekiti State a bit too late but greatly wounded!
He quickly requested that Mrs. Olujimi, who sources said had become one of the permanent female features at the bed-side of the “libido –challenged” Obasanjo be allowed to take over from Fayose whom he requested to step down by way of resignation.
A source in the know of the happenings told Saharareporters Fayose was actually going to step down as planned, but Obasanjo was said to have suddenly called him to tarry a little, so that his delayed resignation can be used to bargain with the “stubborn” opposition groups in Ekiti State to accept Mrs. Olujimi the next governor, Obasanjo then called in everyone he could reach in Ekiti State about his new plan. It was immediately rejected by all including the federal legislators at the national assembly who were summoned to prevail on the pro -impeachment movement to let Mrs. Olujimi be!
The opposition groups were said to have inundated Obasanjo with Mrs. Abiodun Olujimi’s own transgressions. Which includes her alleged involvement in the murder of Honorable Talabi from whom she took over as the member of the National House of Representatives after a controversial bye-election personally supervised by Fayose before she was made Deputy Governor, also included was the fact that she uses a forged certificate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka with which she parades herself as a university graduate. The president was also told that her husband engages in oil –bunkering, his underworld name “Daddy Warri” had featured in security reports earlier submitted to Obasanjo about oil bunkering problems in the Niger Delta area. Mrs. Olujimi was also accused of corruption and EFCC reports were tabled before the president.
Though Obasanjo was quoted as saying that she is a “useless woman” he however insisted that she be allowed to take over as soon as Fayose resigns so that his administration can boost of the “first-ever female governor in Nigeria”. At that point the opposition groups decided to play along. With the help of the Director General of the State Security Services (SSS), Col. Kayode Are (rtd) who was supportive of the removal of Fayose. They continued to get security protection to do their impeachment work since the IG and Ekiti State police commissioner; Mrs. Ivy Uche Okoronkwo would not support the 24 legislators. Things seem to get on well until Chief Bode George went out again to mobilize some “Yoruba Elders” to intervene; they include some Obas and Governors of the Southwest States. Even though, Bode George didn’t succeed in convincing Obasanjo change his mind, he successfully got to the Chief Judge of Ekiti State to come in on the “anti-impeachment” side fully so came the flurry of last minute legal challenges by Fayose to thwart his impeachment, but those too failed woefully. Obasanjo later sent Chief Bode George on an emissary to Saudi Arabia to reduce his nuisance value, by the time he returned from Saudi Arabia he laid low and stopped meddling openly in the crisis but he never gave up.
On Friday preceding impeachment day, after breakfast, 24 legislators who were about to get on the bus from their hideout when a sudden order for the withdrawal of policemen in their entourage came. The IG sent out “urgent signals” that all policemen in the zone should report to their commissioners with ‘immediate effect’, these sudden withdrawal of policemen alarmed the 24 legislators who made several calls to Col. Kayode Are (rtd) and Bodunde Adeyanju at Aso Rock, at this point it was sources said Bodunde had become tired and worn out, because he too had problems of his own to contend with, they eventually got through and were assisted with SSS protection while some policemen were “borrowed” from the adjourning Ondo State. However, Kayode Are said he could not guarantee their safety for too long, he advised that the legislators spend nothing more than 30 minutes in Ado Ekiti since security reports weren’t favorable to their safety.
They were lucky! soon after they concluded their sitting and left the house of assembly complex 18 lorry loads of thugs armed with acids, cudgels, guns, and petrol invaded the house of assembly complex. Three buses were first to arrive, to burn the 24 legislators alive inside the Ekiti State House of Assembly complex while reinforcement of the remaining 15 buses would come in to ensure that no one escapes. They camped out at the Government House in Ado Ekiti with Governor Fayose directing their action. The failure of the thugs led the DIG in charge of the zone, Mr. Ajakaiye to move against the thugs, they pursued them and arrested a few of them, the policemen who pursued them were told not to enter the Government House, so the rest of them ran into the Governors Lodge and escaped from there.
This deadly plan was hatched in Ibadan at Chief Adedibu’s house, with Chief Bode George’s backing, the PDP chieftains had calculated that if the thugs successfully burnt down the house of assembly with the members inside, they can use that to justify that Governor Ayo Fayose was very popular in Ekiti State and these actions were popular reactions from Ekiti people who didn’t not want him impeached. “Of course, the president would have proceeded to impose a state of emergency and institute a panel made up PDP chieftains to “investigate, find and recommend how to prevent future occurrences” and that would have been the end of the 24 legislators. And Fayose could be made into a governor mourning the loss of his legislators.
Obasanjo was said to have sent in troops of mobile policemen from Ondo State to take over strategic places in Ekiti State in response to Col. Kayode Are’s recommendations that the state was about to explode. The action of the president led Gov. Fayose to rethink his security since Mrs. Ivy Okoronkwo, Ekiti State Commissioner of Police learnt about the deployment a few hours before it happened. She quickly conferred with Chief Bode George, it was decided that Fayose should escape from the Governor’s Lodge with lots of money in his possession (hard currencies), he was first driven to Ibadan and subsequently out of Ibadan to Lagos from where his whereabouts is still a mystery till today.
With Fayose gone, Obasanjo was said to be comfortably sure that the second panel would ‘exonerate’ Mrs. Olujimi and let her take over from Fayose. She was provided with adequate security and given daily instructions on what to expect, but unknown to Obasanjo, the 24 legislators had a different plan. They decided to impeach both Fayose and Mrs. Olujimi together. When the impeachment was brought to his attention, President Obasanjo quickly called the Attorney General to issue a statement to declare the process “unconstitutional” even though he was well aware of all the process that led to the final decision. He also called Mrs. Olujimi to stand her ground, again, asking the IG to provide her with more security. The impeached deputy governor, who had already started packing her bags in reaction to popular support she saw on the streets and the action of the PDP leadership in the state who all supported the new arrangement, came back to life. While Chief Bode George and Ahmadu Alli where dictating to her, Obasanjo called another meeting to ask that PDP leaders find someone who can act as the sole administrator in Ekiti State, the Attorney General Bayo Ojo was asked to repeat the line on national TV that the Ekiti State situation was illegal, soon, Frank Nweke, the minister of information too joined in calling the Ekiti State change of government illegal almost calling it a coup ‘detat. The president figured, if they acted in Ekiti State, the lawmakers in Anambra State might be frightened a little, even when he knew that the impeachment in Anambra State was sponsored by Andy Uba, his chief pimp, Anambra wasn’t his next port of call. He didn’t want Peter Obi impeached as of yet, as much as providing an additional leverage for him in the South East and so came the state of emergency, even though there were initial doubts that the violence component was missing, the strategist in Aso Rock in Abuja knew there was no credible resistance on the ground, if there was, they had enough police on the ground to take care of trouble makers, so went Ekiti State back to the president’s men!
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