By Chris Nomjov
Following their legislative hiatus from the Ekiti State House of Assembly over concerns of their safety; the 19 APC lawmakers in the state have been urged to return and commence sitting, saying the end of impunity has come with the victory of Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
The All Progressive Congress in Ekiti State noted that “Buhari’s victory marks the beginning of sanity in the polity wracked by lawlessness, corruption and impunity. All democratic institutions will operate unfettered within the ambit of the law.
“On this note, we urge our 19 members in the House of Assembly to return to work immediately and take control of the affairs because a new era of law and order has returned,” the Ekiti APC said on Tuesday in a statement by its publicity secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun.
It would be recalled that 19 lawmakers of the APC in Ekiti state, have been away from the Assembly complex in Ado-Ekiti since late last year, for fear of their lives, after admitting that Governor Ayodele Fayose did not ‘like them’ and they would only return when “the coast is clear”. In the meantime, the state Assembly has been operating with just 7 PDP lawmakers, so far.
The party congratulated Nigerians for their peaceful conduct in the Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections that returned Buhari as the winner and told the residents of the state to defy the curfew imposed on the state by Governor Ayo Fayose.
It commended its members and supporters for recording remarkable votes despite provocations, inducements, harassments and infractions on their rights by the state government.
The APC described the curfew as “sheer wickedness on the part of Governor Fayose to want to prevent” the people from celebrating and described the curfew as wicked.
The party urged the police not to allow them to be used as “anti-democratic agents to unleash terror on Ekiti people and APC members.”
The statement read, “Our party has asked its members to defy order barring them from celebrating their party’s victory because it is their legal right. We are not fighting; we are celebrating.
“Fayose should remember that he urged Ekiti people to defy Governor Kayode Fayemi’s curfew order when there was apparent threat to peace in the state. This time, there is no threat to peace and so there is no authority that can bar Ekiti people from celebrating our liberty and this victory. End of impunity has come.
“It is not only victory for Ekiti people, but victory for Nigerians for a successful transition from one civilian administration to another.
“Nigerians from all walks of life are celebrating this special moment, Ekiti cannot be an exception. We are not mourning but celebrating. It is sheer wickedness on the part of Governor Fayose to want to prevent this celebration.”
According to him, the victory of the APC’s candidate is a vote for transparency, performance and building of hope among Nigerians, assuring that Buhari would take Nigeria back to her deserved position in the comity of nations.
