A pro-democracy group, Initiative to Save Democracy (ITSAD), on Saturday, advised Gov. Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state to tone down his political rhetoric in the interest of peace and national security.
In a statement, the convener of ITSAD, Mr Chidi Ndukwe, said that Nigeria was not at war contrary to the impression being given by the governor.
Ndukwe hinged his counsel on a reported declaration by Fayose that he appeared before the state House of Assembly on Tuesday dressed in a military camouflage because Nigeria was at war.
The governor was at the Assembly to present the state government’s 2017 budget proposal of N93.4 billion.
His mode of dressing stirred controversy, with the main opposition party in the state, APC, describing it as unbecoming of “of his high position in a constitutional democracy’’.
However, the governor has reportedly brushed aside the criticism, insisting that focus should be on his performance and achievement in office, not his dressing.
According to ITSAD convener, Fayose’s comment that the prevailing state of war in the country prompted his dressing is capable of heating up the polity.
Ndukwe said that a situation where a democratically-elected governor would resort to wearing military outfit was a violation of the nation’s Constitution and extant laws.
“The fact that a state governor enjoys immunity is not a license for the deliberate violation of the nation’s Constitution and extant laws.
“`Fayose’s own words appear to be a veiled call for a declaration of State of Emergency in his state, to avert total breakdown of law and order, ’’ he said.
Source: punch
