Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has alerted the
\nChief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, of fresh
\nplots by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to compromise a section
\nof the Judiciary and muzzle democracy in their desperation to oust him
\nfrom office, saying; \u201cThe essence of all of these is to silence him as
\nthe voice of opposition in the country because he has bluntly rejected
\nall overtures to him to defect into the ruling APC or stop talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
The governor, who warned against any plot to destabilise Ekiti State,
\nwondered how long the Ekiti APC and its collaborators will pursue
\ntheir clandestine agenda of reversing an election they lost over 30
\nmonths ago and validated by the tribunal, appeal court and the Supreme
\nCourt.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a letter he addressed to Justice Onnoghen, Fayose alleged that
\n\u201ccertain APC chieftains were again making subterranean moves to
\nmanipulate and compromise a section of the Judiciary, particularly
\nsome judges, to get through the back door what they failed severally
\nto achieve through the ballot box as well as in open court, even in
\nmatters already decided by the Supreme Court.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cAt a recent meeting held in Ado-Ekiti, the State capital, at
\nwhich several stalwarts and chieftains of the All Progressives
\nCongress were in attendance, two former governors of the State and
\nmembers of the APC, namely Engr. Segun Oni and Dr. Kayode Fayemi, now
\na Federal Minister, boasted that there is no going back on the latest
\nplans to subvert the will of the people of Ekiti freely given; wrest
\nthe governance of Ekiti from me at all costs before the expiration of
\nmy tenure in October 2018 through orchestrated but dubious legal
\nprocess; and thereby render nugatory the sacred mandate of the people
\ngiven unto me openly and unequivocally when I won in all the 16 local
\ngovernments of the state while the then incumbent Governor,\u00a0 Kayode
\nFayemi recorded zero.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fingering the hands of the Presidency in the latest plot, with Oni and
\nFayemi as their local arrow heads, Governor Fayose alleged that a
\nconcocted fresh suit is being rehashed and to be filed against him on
\nthe same old allegation that have been trashed all the way from the
\nTribunal to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
He alleged that;\u00a0 \u201cthis time, the plotters of this judicial
\ncoup-de-tat plan to procure the services of a compromised or malleable
\njudge to get self-serving \u2018jankara\u2019 and kangaroo judgment with the
\nintention of having the Supreme Court reverse itself on the June 2014
\nEkiti election.<\/p>\n
\u201cSegun Oni and Kayode Fayemi boastfully claimed that they have
\nenlisted the assurances of Justice Okon Abang and one or two other
\njudges in the concocted fresh suit, hinged on the report of a useless,
\nsenseless, and orchestrated Military report not known to the Electoral
\nlaw.\u201d<\/p>\n
Urging the CJN to take \u201cnotice of judicial pronouncements by courts of
\nconcurrent jurisdiction as well as the scathing remarks of appellate
\ncourts on how the said Justice Okon Abang has been used in the past by
\nanti-democratic forces to endanger democracy and engage in deleterious
\nmiscarriage of justice\u201d, Fayose prayed that the Judiciary would not
\nsuccumb to devious plots to undermine its independence and integrity
\nand rubbish its good name and hard-earned reputation any more.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy Lord, you have a duty to ensure that no Judge under your watch is
\nenlisted into this diabolical act by any rampaging anti-democratic
\nelements.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe embarrassing incidents currently playing out on our National
\nJudicial horizon, with several judicial officers, including serving
\nJustices of the Supreme Court, enmeshed in simulated and orchestrated
\ncorruption scandals and indictments by agencies of the Federal
\nGovernment because they had refused, at one time or the other, to
\nserve the base interests of the ruling APC government in matters
\npending before their Lordships, have kept us wondering whether the
\nJudiciary will succumb to these unwarranted harassments and
\nintimidation meant to coerce and cower it into submission and make
\nthis very important and indispensable Third Estate of the Realm
\nsubservient to the arbitrary wishes, whims, and caprices of the
\nExecutive and political desperados,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Describing himself as \u201ca leading opposition figure in Nigeria today
\nthat has been very critical of the anti-people policies of the Federal
\nGovernment and its anti-democratic actions that endanger our renascent
\ndemocracy\u201d, Fayose added that \u201cdemocracy without virile opposition
\nwill eventually turn into a dictatorship, which is currently being
\nexperienced.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fayose said he would continue to believe in the Judiciary going by the
\nopen declaration of the CJN to defend the Independence of the
\nJudiciary; maintain its integrity and deliver a virile and disciplined
\nJudiciary that is impartial, independent, non-partisan, and not
\nsubservient to the selfish interests of any individual, group or
\ncabal, however powerful or influential they may be.<\/p>\n
The governor therefore expressed the confidence that Justice Onnoghen
\nin particular and the Judiciary in general would not only refuse to
\nfall for the APC\u2019s cheap and pedestrian blackmail but would also
\nresolutely and confidently defend the hallowed grounds of the
\nJudiciary and secure them from desecration by anti-democratic forces
\nrunning riot all over the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has alerted the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, of fresh plots by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n