Fayemi alleges bias, urges court to disband probe panel

Former governor of Ekiti State and Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has urged an Ado-Ekiti High Court for an injunction to restrain the state government and the Judicial Commission of Enquiry set up by Governor Ayodele Fayose to probe his administration from going ahead with the probe. The minister also alleged […]

Former governor of Ekiti State and Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has urged an Ado-Ekiti High Court for an injunction to restrain the state government and the Judicial Commission of Enquiry set up by Governor Ayodele Fayose to probe his administration from going ahead with the probe.

The minister also alleged in the court papers made available to journalists in Ado Ekiti on Thursday that all the members of the panel are the governor’s apologists saying there is no way the panel could be fair to him.

The minister, in the suit number HAD/57/2017, is asking the court to restrain the state governor, the state’s attorney-general and members of the judicial commission of enquiry from taking any step, following the pendency of two cases on the planned probe in courts of competent jurisdiction.

Others joined in the suit filed on behalf of the minister by Chief Rafiu O. Balogun, are the Ekiti State House of Assembly and Speaker of the House of Assembly.

Governor Fayose had on Monday last week constituted a judicial panel, led by a former acting Chief judge of the state, Justice Silas Oyewole, to probe Fayemi’s administration between October 2010 to October 2014 over alleged financial misappropriation.

Fayemi  is also seeking a declaration that the motion and subsequent resolution of Ekiti State House of Assembly directing the governor (first defendant) to set up a judicial commission of enquiry to investigate or probe his administration are unlawful, illegal and ought to be declared null and void, in view of the fact the resolution was passed during the pendency of a case involving him and the Ekiti State House of Assembly and its speaker, which touched on the legality of the summons and powers of the Assembly to conduct any investigation or direct any other person or body to do so without strict compliance with the tenets of the 1999 constitution.

The minister further said that he was convinced that the chairman of the commission, the secretary and all other members of the commission are cronies and stooges of Fayose and have been appointed to act a script allegedly prepared by their appointing authority, as touted by Mr Lere Olayinka and Dr Samuel Omotosho before the constitution of the commission of enquiry.

He added, “There is no way justice can be done with the crop of personalities in the Commission of Enquiry and the right to fair hearing cannot be guaranteed in the way and manner the commission was constituted."

“I have a reason to believe that the Chairman of the Commission, a retired judge has an axe to grind with me on account of not acceding to his ambition to be appointed as Chief Judge of Ekiti State during my tenure as governor. This is in addition to his clear partisanship and overt support for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“I know that the secretary to the commission is the incumbent Director of Public Prosecution, Ekiti State. He was appointed and elevated to that position by Governor Fayose. The Counsel to the Commission, Mr S.B.J Bamise is also a state counsel, who no doubt, cannot be fair or be trusted to be unbiased. He is under the control of Attorney General, Ekiti State."