You’re a ‘big joke’, Fayemi tells Fayose

Kayode Fayemi, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, has challenged the 10-year ban slammed on him from holding political office by an Ekiti state government white paper.

On Monday, the Ekiti State government had released white a paper, banning Kayode Fayemi, a former governor of the state and current minister of solid minerals, from holding public office for at least 10 years.

Dapo Kolawole, who served Fayemi as commissioner for finance, has also been barred for the same number of years.

The government based its action on the report of the judicial commission of inquiry, which indicted both men over alleged mismanagement of the state’s finances between October 2010 and 2014.

However, in a statement issued on his behalf by Yinka Oyebode, his senior special assistant on media, Fayemi described the action as “a big joke”. According to the statement, the contents of the white paper were “a pre-meditated verdict that cannot stand”.

It said neither Ayo Fayose, Ekiti governor, nor his government had the constitutional powers to ban him from holding political office, either in Ekiti or any part of Nigeria.

“While we believe it is part of the responsibilities of the state administration to look into the finances of the state at any point in time, we are also of the belief that such must be done in a very responsible manner devoid of prejudice, witch hunting and a calculated attempt to victimise a citizen.

“In this particular case, the entire process is discredited right from the beginning, as the only agenda of the panel was to rubbish Fayemi’s public service record.

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“One is therefore not surprised at the recommendations of the white paper, it only goes to confirm our initial position that the panel was compromised right from inception and targeted against the former governor.

The statement added that: “In the process, they ignored the rule of law and behaved as if the court does not matter, thus making their actions subjudiced to the court.

Yinka Olabode said entire process and the character personae involved are discredited and since it is impossible to build something on nothing, legally speaking, their recommendation is not only null and void, it is a joke taken too far.

“We urge the teeming supporters of the minister, the good people of Ekiti state and the general public not to be disturbed by the development; it is simply another act of illegality, from an administration that has elevated political debauchery to state craft,” the statement said.