THE CURSE OF IMPEACHMENT IN EKITI STATE.

The impeachment saga in Ekiti State is a political culture that escalated during the eight year reign of General Olusegun Obasanjo that might as well have been an extension of military rule.

Impeachments in Anambra, Bayelsa, Ekiti, and Plateau – all carried out under his command – fell short of constitutional requirements for removing a governor. Emergency rules in Plateau and Ekiti were Obasanjo’s legacies.

When Mr. Ayo Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was elected Governor of Ekiti State 10 months ago, All Progressives Congress, APC, contested his qualification. One of its major points was Fayose’s 2006 impeachment. Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the sitting governor, had congratulated Fayose, but APC decided to challenge the result at the tribunal.

The Ekiti State Governorship Election Tribunal on 19 December 2014 upheld Fayose’s election. On 16 February 2015, the Appeal Court ruled in Fayose’s favour, though it condemned the presence of the military which intimidated voters. The Supreme Court also affirmed Fayose’s election, maintaining that his 16 October 2006 impeachment was not a valid ground to disqualify him from the election, as the impeachment was unconstitutional.

Governors have appropriated Obasanjo’s unconstitutional manners, taking control of their State Assemblies, through under-funding, intimidation of members, and exile of those who remain uncontrollable.

In Ogun State, under Gbenga Daniel, the State Assembly could not meet for months, a scenario that wasrepeated in Kogi State. The intervention of the National Assembly did not produce meaningful results. The principle of separation of powers anticipates that various arms of government, in the execution of their duties, would act as checks on other arms.

Legislators have become willing tools for furtherance of illegal political interests.

The Supreme Court in upturning impeachment of deputy governors in Taraba and Adamawa States, alluded to similar illegalities. While impeachment is meant as a check on the executive, in all the cases mentioned, legislators were unwilling to meet the constitutional requirements.

Both sides on the Ekiti impeachment saga should tread softly. The Governor whose legitimacy was confirmed by the Supreme Court drew the first blood when he did an unusual arithmetic of using seven legislators to impeach a Speaker who had majority of 19 others on his side.

The 19 APC lawmakers who Fayose abbreviated their membership of the State House of Assembly last November, want to return. Their immediate ambition is to impeach Fayose who has denied them entry into the Assembly.

It is unbelievable that those who get to their positions through the law, once in office, eagerly abandon the law, if they believe it would inconvenience them. Fayose is a beneficiary of the law. The legislators are a creation of the law, so their actions should be guided by the law.

These issues may finally be resolved by the law, but unfortunately, the pace of justice is so slow that perpetrators of illegalities enjoy their illegal positions as we wait for justice.