EFCC Under Instruction to Carry out Sting Operation against Fayose, PDP Alleges

•Daura lobbied me twice to support Buhari, says former gov

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the Presidency had directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to carry out a sting operation to arrest and incarcerate indefinitely the former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose.

This is coming as Fayose has alleged that the former Director General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura, asked him on two occasions to support President Muhammadu Buhari-led government in order for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to retain the control of the state, saying that he turned down the request on both occasions.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Party, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement yesterday said that the information at the party’s disposal and all over the social media indicated that the presidency had put the commission on alert to arrest the governor and detain him indefinitely.

He stated: “By 12 midnight, the governor’s residence is expected to be surrounded by armed men of the EFCC under the pretence that they had information of his plot to escape. This is to achieve their plan to humiliate the governor and portray him in bad light to the public by dramatising his arrest.

“The EFCC even unprofessionally showed their bias in deriding the governor and making light of a very serious matter by mocking him and asking him to come before his tenure elapsed, which the governor declined in line with the constitutional immunity.

“The alleged directive by the presidency is not unconnected with the plot to use the EFCC and other security agencies to incarcerate the governor owing to his persistent criticism of the President Buhari-led APC government.”

Meanwhile, Fayose has said that the former Director General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura, asked him on two occasions to support President Muhammadu Buhari-led government in order for PDP, to retain the control of the state, saying that he turned down the request on both occasions.

The governor, who handed over to his predecessor yesterday, spoke in Abuja on Sunday night at a reception organised for him by his colleagues in the PDP Governors’ Forum.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, yesterday, he quoted Fayose as saying that it was for that reason that Daura coordinated the security onslaught against him and his supporters during the July 14 governorship election in the state.

According to him, “If I had agreed to the proposal and operated like a bat that has the features of an animal and a bird, they would not have attempted to muzzle me. I am not one of those that would be silenced or who will go and take over under his wife’s bed because some people want to play God.

“I cannot deceive you; I can fight but rather than fight the PDP, I will deploy my energy to fight those holding our country hostage and retarding its growth by their incapability. The time is up for them and they know this.”

On the fallout from the PDP presidential primary, Fayose urged the National Chairman, Prince Uche Secobdus, and others to give the necessary respect and recognition to state governors, adding that the governors are institutions on their own and they must be accorded the necessary respect and recognition.

“When there is a need to get these governors to contribute money to meet some needs, they will contribute. But when there is a need to let them express their views and preferences, they will be accused of trying to impose; that must stop,” he said.

Fayose expressed confidence that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi would be elected president and vice president of Nigeria next year, urging the party to unite, and forge a common front to oust Buhari.

He added that the South-west people would vote the PDP in the coming general elections and thanked the organisers of the event and those who graced it for honouring him.

At the event, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Emmanuel Udom, described Fayose as a courageous and dependable man, saying Fayose could defend a cause even at the cost of his life.

The chairman of the occasion, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara said nobody who served his people the way Fayose did would be put to shame, adding that Fayose’s supporters who were shedding tears while he was departing Ekiti, were actually praying for him.

Peter Obi, in his remarks, said the country needed people like Fayose who would speak the truth to power.

Other speakers such as the Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson; and former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode poured encomiums on Fayose and prayed that God blesses his future endeavours.