AYO FAYOSE LEADS Okada Riders To Chase SEGUN ONI Out Of Government House

*TINUBU, GANIYU SOLOMON React

**AYOKA ADEBAYO Must Go To Jail” - KEYAMO

Following the sack from office of former Governor Segun Oni by the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division last Friday, the political climate of Ekiti State seemed to have changed swiftly due to the palpable tension in the state capital, Ado-Ekiti and its environs.

One of the major highlights of the change of baton after the three-and-a-half unanimous judgment delivered by the five-man appeal court panel in Ilorin, Kwara State was the massive jubilation witnessed among residents of Ekiti State over the verdict. 

Sen. Bola Tinubu

 It was gathered that while the hysteria was going on in the state, former governor Ayodele Fayose, a known antagonist of Oni was said to have led a large number of motorcycle riders, otherwise known as Okada, to the Government House in Ado-Ekiti. The mission of the controversial Fayose was not in doubt to watchers, as he, alongside the Okada riders were purportedly chanting war songs, asking Oni to vacate the Government House while they waited. The jubilant Okada riders were seen wielding brooms, the insignia of the victorious Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and dramatically sweeping off the vestige of the crumbled PDP leadership. 

Sen. Ganiyu Olarenwaju Solomom (GOS)

 Sources claimed that Oni may have been deserted, as he was shorn of the erstwhile trappings of power and attendant patronage. This became evident due to the absence of his security details, who were believed to have been withdrawn shortly after the judgment. 

First Weekly also learnt that the ousted former governor Oni might have had inkling of his sack as he was said to have moved his personal effects piecemeal before Friday.

While he (Oni) was said to have avoided the courtroom in Ilorin and only got wind of the judgment in Ado Ekiti, Governor Kayode Fayemi was in Lagos and returned to Ekiti State shortly after the verdict.

Segun Oni

However, the judgment ws\as also said to have rattled the PDP, especially current public office holders at the National Assembly and within the federal government. A PDP source hinted that the judgment might have thrown a clog in the wheel of their political aspirations in 2011.

However, reactions have begun to pour in over the court verdict. One of those who commented on the issue was former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

The ACN strongman and acclaimed force behind the reversal of PDP fortunes in different states, particularly in the south west  on Friday said that “the verdict has given the recently celebrated fiftieth independence celebration a meaning; those who voted for can in Ekiti State stood by their vote and they should be congratulated for this victory”.

Festus keyamo

In the same vein, the chairman Senate Committee on Capital Markets and stalwart of the ACN in Lagos State, Sen. Ganiyu Olarenwaju Solomon (GOS) stated that “the verdict is a good tonic for Nigeria at fifty and it is a great relief. It is  victory for perseverance and democracy”.

Also not left out of the various reactions trailing the verdict, former commissioner for Information in Lagos State and senatorial aspirant for Ekiti Central Senatorial district, Mr. Dele Alake commented that the verdict was justice at last for Fayemi. In his words, Alake said “justice is attained eventually, not minding the length of time it took”.

Moreover, in his strong opinion, the deputy chairman of the House of Representative Committee on Solid Minerals, Hon. Akeem Arole Fancy claimed the verdict was “a big success for the party (ACN) as well as for the long suffering Ekiti people  who stood by the party and its flagbearer at the time of Oni''s misrule went through.

“It is a sign of hope for democratic governance and its sustainability in Nigeria. We thank all our supporters for standing by us and I pray that God will grant the new governor the strength to withstand the rigour of office and wisdom to lead the people right”, Arole concluded.

Also, fiery Lagos lawyer, Barrister Festus Keyamo has advocated that the erstwhile Ekiti State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) who superintended the controversial election, Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo and the immediate past chairman of the INEC, Prof. Maurice Iwu should be committed to prison for their roles in the Ido-Osi Local Government saga.

Keyamo said “ those who allowed this travesty of justice to reign initially (and by so doing allowed an unelected person to manage the resources of a state for three and half year), notably Professor Maurice Iwu and Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo must be arrested, detained, charged, tried publicly and sentenced to jail with hard labour”.

Not done, Keyamo also commended former governor Bola Tinubu for his political interventions in “ wrestling some of these states (where election results are contested) back from the grip of the PDP

He, therefore, urged “Nigerians to rise up and salute Gov. Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his role”.

November 11, 2010