Wikipedia

Ayo Fayose

Peter Ayodele Fayose ((Listenⓘ); born 15 November 1960)[1] is a Nigerian politician who served as governor of Ekiti State from 2003 to 2006, and again from 2014 to 2018.[2]

Ayo Fayose
Governor of Ekiti State
In office
16 October 2014 – 16 October 2018
DeputyKolapo Olushola
Preceded byKayode Fayemi
Succeeded byKayode Fayemi
In office
29 May 2003 – 16 October 2006
DeputyAbiodun Aluko
(2003–2005)
Abiodun Olujimi
(2005–2006)
Preceded byNiyi Adebayo
Succeeded byTunji Olurin
Personal details
Born
Peter Ayodele Fayose

(1960-11-15) 15 November 1960 (age 64)
Afao Ekiti, Western Region (now in Ekiti State), Nigeria
Political partyPeoples Democratic Party
SpouseFeyisetan Fayose
OccupationPolitician

Early life

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Fayose grew up in Oyo State where he attended Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo.[3] In 1985, He was admitted to a Higher National Diploma (HND) programme in Biological Sciences/Applied Medical/Biology by The Polytechnic, Ibadan and graduated in 1987. While doing his National Youth Service Corps program at Pepsi Nigeria Limited, Ibadan, he engaged in installation, maintenance and servicing of medical and laboratory equipment.[4]

He is married to Feyisetan.[5] He conducted one of the most sought after medical outreach programmes during his political campaign in 2001.[6]

Political career

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Fayose became the second governor of Ekiti on 29 May 2003, after defeating the incumbent Governor, Niyi Adebayo in the gubernatorial elections.[7] He could not complete his tenure as a result of an impeachment on 16 October 2006.[8]

During the 2014 Ekiti State gubernatorial election, Fayose was again the PDP nominee[citation needed]. He won the election and was declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission as the new Governor of Ekiti State, for a second term as a governor. The then incumbent governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi conceded defeat and was one of the earliest to congratulate Mr Fayose for winning the election. Fayose was inaugurated on 16 Of October, 2014.[9] Fayose is now the only Nigerian to defeat an incumbent two times.

Fayose has also publicly declared his intentions to run for president in Nigerian general election, 2019.[10] His party, The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, admonished him against the ambition to be the party's presidential candidate in 2019. Fayose later dropped his ambition.[11]

Allegation of vote rigging

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An army intelligence officer, Captain Sagir Koli of the Nigerian Army 32nd Artillery Brigade, secretly recorded a vote-rigging plan on 20 June 2014 when he was asked to accompany his then commanding Officer, Brigadier General Aliyu Momoh, to a meeting at Spotless Hotel in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.[12][13][14]

The 37-minute audio recording was attended by the eventual "winner" of the election, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State; Senator Iyiola Omisore of Osun State; a member of the National Assembly Abdul Kareem; the Minister for Police Affairs Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan; the former Minister for Police Affairs and navy captain Caleb Olubolade; the Minister of State for Defense Senator Musiliu Obanikoro and PDP Anambra chieftain and failed senate candidate Chris Uba, as they bribed army Brigadier General Momoh with a rank promotion for his assistance in carrying out election fraud in Ekiti State.[15][16]

For exposing the vote-rigging of the Ekiti State governor election of Fayose, Captain Sagir Koli was praised by the military for his "non-partisanship and professional conduct during the election period."[17][18]

Travails with the EFCC

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission froze four Zenith Bank accounts allegedly used by Fayose to launder money for his Ekiti governorship election in 2014 in a lawsuit no. FHC/CS?871/2016 titled "Federal Republic of Nigeria Vs Zenith bank PLC account numbers 1003126654, 9013074033, 1010170969 and 1013835889."

The judge Justice Mohammed Idris had granted the EFCC on 24 June 2016 an order to freeze all the funds in the said accounts in Zenith Bank. Two accounts belong to Governor Ayo Fayose while the third belongs to his hotel Spotless Hotel in Ado Ekiti. The fourth account was operated by one of Fayose's aides, Abiodun Agbele, who is under EFCC custody.

The EFCC had alleged that those accounts possessed funds, said to be about N4.7 billion (US$20mn) stolen from the office of the National Security Adviser, with most of the money secretly retained by Fayose for his personal use after the election.[19][20][21] Ayo Fayose was fingered by former Nigerian Minister of State for Defense, Musiliu Obanikoro as one of the beneficiaries of the $2.1billion arms deal scandal, which saw the illegal diversion and theft of funds that was allegedly appropriated to fight the Boko Haram insurgency.[22]

Fayose is alleged to own a radio station, Our People's FM, on 104.1 MHz in Ado Ekiti. The station was forcibly seized for a time in 2019, allegedly due to land use violations, though political considerations were also mentioned.[23][24]

Challenged Aisha Buhari To Travel To USA

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On 22 June 2016, Fayose had claimed that Aisha Buhari, the wife of the Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari was the same person (who had claimed to be a daughter of General Muhammadu Buhari)[25] indicted by a US Court for transferring $170,000 to indicted US Congressman, Williams Jefferson, in the William J. Jefferson corruption case involving Halliburton[26][27][28] and that she was avoiding arrest by US authorities by failing to accompany her husband on his three presidential visits to the United States.[29]

However, when Aisha Buhari travelled to Washington DC on 4 August 2016,[30] Fayose subsequently claimed that her US visit did not invalidate the Haliburton judgement against her, saying "Has traveling to the US invalidated the judgment that said Aisha Buhari transferred $170,000 to Jefferson's account? “Has traveling to the US erased the fact that Aisha Buhari transferred $170,000 to Williams Jefferson?[31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Olumide, Akinrinlola (13 July 2021). "2023 Presidency: Why Ayodele Fayose is best for PDP in the South". Vanguard. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  2. ^ Udo, Bassey; Sanni, Kunle (16 October 2018). "Alleged Corruption: Fayose submits self to EFCC". Premium Times. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  3. ^ "#Elections2019: Peter Ayodele Fayose's Profile". #Elections2019: Peter Ayodele Fayose's Profile. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  4. ^ Dimeji-Ajayi, Daminola (15 November 2018). "Peter Ayodele Fayose: The Ekiti Powerhouse". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Governor donates building to Olivet Heights, Oyo State". Archived from the original on 4 July 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2007.
  6. ^ "Fayose: The comeback kid and future of Ekiti". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014. "Fayose the comeback kid and future of Ekiti"
  7. ^ "Past Governors – Ekiti State Website". Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Fayose seeks to complete tenure aborted by impeachment". Premium Times. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Fayose dethrones Fayemi, sweeps Ekiti governorship election". Premium Times. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  10. ^ Ukwu, Jerrywright (28 September 2017). "I want to run for presidency in 2019 because of my love for Nigeria - Governor Fayose declares (photos, video)". Legit.ng. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  11. ^ "2019 Presidential election: PDP warns Fayose". Daily Post. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  12. ^ "How Obanikoro, Fayose, Chris Uba And Brig. General Momoh Rigged Ekiti Governorship Election In Collusion With The Nigeria Army". Sahara Reporters. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  13. ^ Ebuzor, Chika (2 January 2016). "Tope Aluko reveals how Governor rigged Ekiti elections". Pulse. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  14. ^ Ogundele, Kamarudeen (15 April 2016). "We perfected Ekiti rigging in hotel – Aluko". The Punch. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  15. ^ "How Obanikoro, Chris Uba, Omisore, Olubolade, Nigerian Army General Rigged Fayose Into Power". SaharaTV. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2024 – via Youtube.
  16. ^ Sotubo, Monjola (6 February 2015). "Ekiti Elections - Soldier who recorded 'election rigging' discussion speaks out". Pulse. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Nigeria: Army Panel Praises Captain Who Exposed Ekiti Rigging Video, Recommends Sack, Prosecution of Top Officers". Premium Times. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2024 – via allAfrica.
  18. ^ Ibekwe, Nicholas (11 January 2016). "Nigerian Army panel praises captain who exposed Ekiti rigging video, recommends sack, prosecution of top officers". Premium Times. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  19. ^ Ojomoyela, Rotimi (4 July 2016). "Fayose's bank account remains frozen, as Court adjourns to Sept 30th". Vanguard. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  20. ^ Jonathan, Zovoe (28 June 2016). "Court Order Freezing Governor Fayose's Zenith Bank Accounts Surfaces". The Punch. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  21. ^ Ibekwe, Nicholas (22 June 2016). "Inside Story: Real reason Governor Fayose's account was frozen"". Premium Times. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  22. ^ "Obanikoro explains how he gave Fayose $5m arms deal". The Guardian. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  23. ^ Ogunje, Victor (14 February 2019). "Ekiti Seals off Radio Station Allegedly Owned by Fayose". This Day. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  24. ^ "Ekiti govt seals radio station allegedly owned by Fayose". Daily Champion. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  25. ^ Tijani, Mayowa (21 June 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: Aisha Buhari unveiled… but is she the president's wife, daughter or an impostor?". TheCable. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  26. ^ Meier, Barry (29 April 2007). "Teed Up: Golf, K Street and Nigeria". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  27. ^ Adebowale, Segun (22 June 2016). "Let Aisha Buhari travel to US to prove she's innocent of Halliburton scam – Fayose". The Eagle. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  28. ^ Ugwuanyi, Sylvester (22 June 2016). "Halliburton scandal: Prove your innocence by travelling to US – Fayose dares Buhari's wife". Daily Post. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  29. ^ "Aisha Buhari in The US Different From Nigeria First Lady Aisha Buhari, SaharaReporters Finds". Sahara Reporters. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  30. ^ "Photos: Aisha Buhari faults Fayose's allegations, visits Washington DC". Vanguard. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  31. ^ "Finally Fayose Breaks Silence: Reacts To Aisha Buhari's Trip To USA, Attacks Her Again". Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.

28. ^ Klevin, Joe. (11 August 2020). "I'm going to send Obasanjo back to prison if I’m going to be president – Fayose". legitloaded.com.

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