Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday declared a state of emergency in the troubled Ekiti State in the country’s south-west.
The governor of the state, Ayo Fayose, and his deputy, Biodun Olujimi, were impeached on Monday by the state’s Parliament on graft charges and the speaker of Parliament, Friday Aderemi, was sworn in by the state’s acting chief judge as acting governor.
The impeached duo and the acting governor have, however, continued to lay claim to the seat of governor, just as the ruling People’s Democratic Party and the Nigerian government denounced the appointment of the speaker as acting governor.
Obasanjo appointed a former military governor of Ogun State, also in the south-west, to oversee the affairs of Ekiti State, pending the determination of who actually occupies the seat.
It was the second time Obasanjo has declared a state of emergency since he became President in May 1999 upon Nigeria’s return to democracy.
The first time was in 2004 when he declared a state of emergency in Plateau State, north-central Nigeria, which remained in place for six months.
The Plateau State governor, Joshua Dariye, was then suspended from office for six months for inciting ethnic bigotry in his state.
Dariye is also currently being investigated for graft. He absconded from British police last year rather than face money laundering charges in Britain. – Sapa-DPA