The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has chided Governor Ayodele Fayose over comment on non-invitation of President Muhammadu Buhari to the weekend inauguration of President Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States, describing the governor as a “reckless interloper and shameless busy-body” who trivialises issues and dabbles into matters he has no competence in order to present a larger-than-life image of himself.

The party also warned the governor and Ekiti State Judiciary over alleged plot to manipulate the courts in all murder cases allegedly involving the governor, stressing that the party was monitoring all activities by the governor and other individuals to manipulate the cases in favour of the suspects to exonerate them in the murders of eminent Ekiti sons and daughters over political disagreements.

In a remark that sparked national outrage at the weekend, Fayose had mocked Buhari, deriding him for non-invitation by President Trump to his inauguration, citing the American President’s contempt for Buhari over alleged intolerance for the opposition and other anti-democratic practices.

But reacting in a statement on Sunday, Publicity Secretary Taiwo Olatunbosun, described Fayose as a man that lacked deep understanding of international politics and diplomacy and who had “elevated gangsterism, hooliganism and thuggery to an act of political valour”.

“Because Fayose is not educated enough to understand the dynamics and perspectives of international politics and diplomacy, he has reduced the American international and diplomatic politics to the beer parlour politics of muscle-flexing he runs in Ekiti State where all issues are trivialised and individualised for personal benefits to the detriment of the greater good of the people.

“It is a pity that an uninformed upstart is the one calling the shots in the Land of Honour in Ekiti State where knowledge-based information and integrity are the fountains of our development.

“Fayose does not have this, hence he was uninformed about the information in public space that Heads of States and Governments across the globe had no need to attend Trump’s inauguration in Washington but would be represented by their heads of missions in America.

“Apparently not aware of this information and unwilling to be educated on the new American policy thrust, Fayose rolled out the drums in ignorance to celebrate the absence of the President of his country on that important world stage,” he said.

Olatunbosun regretted the governor’s “show of shame”, saying, however, that Fayose’s inadequacies and garrulous conduct did not represent the collective attitude of Ekiti people to the pre-eminence of Nigeria’s image in international politics and diplomacy.

“Nigerians should see Fayose as lacking in Ekiti finesse and, therefore, should be seen as an unblemished poster boy of what he is generally known for all over the world as can be explained in many alleged criminal cases hanging on his neck in courts and the agencies of government, which does not represent the image of Ekiti people in the context of national politics.

“Because of Fayose’s moral nature and value that reeks of boisterous and violent essence of a street life, it has become practically impossible to purge him of always trivialising honourable and responsible political opposition platform that he has turned to the column of fools and plateau for jejune jesters,” he explained.

Olatunbosun also said that the party was in possession of the secret plots to relist murder cases allegedly involving Fayose for re-trial to get all the cases dismissed to save his neck.

“We understand that Dr Ayodeji Daramola and Tunde Omojola’s cases are being pushed for retrial to get them dismissed to enable Fayose save his neck.

“He started this in alleged secret trial late last year before the plot leaked, but this was after the court first struck out the case for ‘lack of diligent prosecution’ in a secret trial that the families of the victims, who were the complainants, were kept in the dark.

“It was after the cases were struck out that they realised that what they needed was outright dismissal to bury the case permanently, but the matter leaked at the point of relisting the cases for fresh hearings, and since then, there was no information on it again.

“But now, another plot is afoot to manipulate the court for the outright dismissal of the cases and the man pushing for dismissal through manipulation of the courts is the prime suspect in the two murder cases.

“We maintain that this injustice will not stand. Fayose can’t be a judge in his own case as he wants to be in these two cases because he has schemed out the families of the deceased in a trial that he desperately needs outright dismissal.

“We call the attention of the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Mr Justice Ayodeji Daramola, to this planned travesty of justice, pleading that he should watch the activities of his judicial officials in the handling of these cases.

“While we will also keep monitoring these cases that have generated a lot of public interest, we hereby call the attention of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to the activities of Ekiti State judiciary to ensure that the victims of political assassinations in the state and their families get justice,” he concluded.

Vanguardngr