TheCable

Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti state, has held a meeting with lawmakers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Ekiti state house of assembly in Akure, capital of Ondo state.

The state director of the Department of State Security (DSS) and commissioner of police were also at the meeting.

Prior to Monday’s meeting, both parties had tried to meet in order to resolve the political crisis in the state, but the lawmakers opted out of the meeting, which was supposed to have revered lawyer, Afe Babalola, in attendance.

They alleged that the governor was using the supposed meeting as cover-up to abduct them.

The lawmakers have been plotting to impeach Fayose but the governor has so far succeeded in frustrating their moves.

According to Wole Olujobi, special adviser on media to Adewale Omirin, speaker of the APC faction of the assembly, five APC lawmakers represented their colleagues at the meeting.

“While the governor emphasised before the lawmakers the offer of their salaries and other entitlements, the lawmakers insisted on the return to the status quo as at November 11, 2014,” Olujobi said after the meeting.

“That means restoring all the principal officers to their positions and all aides of the speaker, deputy speaker, including those of other principal officers.

“The lawmakers made it clear they were ready to return to their jobs and the governor should provide atmosphere for that possibility. They asked the governor to clear the house of assembly of thugs and create conditions that would make them do their jobs without any security threats.

“They insisted that restoring the security aides of the principal officers and opening the assembly for resumption of their legal duties should be the starting point for the restoration of peace.”

He said while the lawmakers made their position clear, the governor was more focused on payment of the lawmakers’ entitlements while promising to look at what he could do on return to the status quo, saying, however, that he might have difficulty in resolving the return to the status quo because the matter was already in court.

“We want to make it clear that the resolution of the crisis in the house of assembly lies with the governor in acceding to our request,” the statement concluded.

Since October 16, 2014 when he was sworn in, Fayose has been having a running battle with the lawmakers.

The situation got out of hand when seven PDP lawmakers purportedly impeached Omirin turned around to suspend 18 other APC members of the assembly and elected their own speaker.

Fayose and the factional lawmakers made the state too uncomfortable for Omirin and his 18 colleagues, who had to flee to Lagos last year.

But they regrouped in Ekiti after APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, won the 28 March election; and they immediately served a notice of impeachment on the governor.