A member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon Afolabi Afolabi Akanni, who was arrested by men of the Department of State Services recently, yesterday arrived Ekiti, promising that his incarceration would further reinforce his loyalty to Governor Ayodele Fayose.
Akanni representing Efon constituency, was arrested on March 4 by the DSS and had since been detained in Abuja until he was released on Tuesday, after spending 18 days in custody.
Another arrested state official and ex-special assistant on revenue to the governor, Mr Ropo Ogunjobi, was also in the state yesterday with Fayose.
Fayose, came in company of the two ex-detainees, aboard a chopper marked 5N-BRL at about 3.38pm and landed at Christ’s School playing groundin Ado Ekiti, where he was welcomed by a mammoth crowd, comprising members of the House of assembly, led by the speaker, Hon Kola Oluwawole.
Akanni, while addressing the crowd said his arrest and detention had further fortified his loyalty for Fayose, describing the governor as a reliable leader.
“What manner of democracy are we practising? How can DSS invaded a House of Assembly and arrest a lawmaker with intention to impeach a governor? They even came without a warrant of arrest. Is this democracy?
“Is it an offence to be loyal or honest to a governor? Fayose is our leader and I can’t betray him. Ekiti people must stand behind him. Mr governor, I am assuring you that I will always stand by you”, he assured.
Ogunjobi revealed that the DSS during interrogation accused him of laundering a sum of N22 billion being amount paid on federal roads to Ekiti by the federal government into Fayose’s accounts, which he described as a blatant lie.
“They even said I helped Fayose to launder another N1.3 billion out of the N2.5 billion ecological fund released to the state. I said all these were lies. I can’t lie against Mr Governor”.
Speaking, Fayose regretted how past military dictators were endangering Nigerian democracy, urging Nigerians not to vote for them into any sensitive position to preserve Nigerian democratic values.
“President Muhammadu Buhari and Olusegun Obasanjo are not democrats. They have no respect for the constitution and the rule of law. But no matter what they do, we won’t succumb to intimidation.
“Today, I am excited because we have worn the battle again. They took Hon Akanni to Abuja as a captive, but he is back now as a hero, shame onto DSS, shame onto our oppressors.
“Our economy is bad, people are losing their jobs on daily basis, but what the APC knows how to do best is to lie to the people. They have no answer to this bad economic situation. When PDP was in government, a dollar was N200, but today, it is almost N400, shame onto them.
“We thank God that we have a house of assembly that refused to join forces with them to remove the governor. That was why I told them that they had engaged a wrong customer. They should forget about impeachment, because this is not 2006.
“President Muhammadu Buhari should face Nigerian financial problems. Though they cannot perform because they took Nigerians votes by tricks”, Fayose said.
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