By Abiola Olawale
Senator Babafemi Ojudu, an eminent journalist and former Special Adviser on Political Matters to the immediate past President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has again made headlines following a revelation surrounding the impeachment of a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, in 2006.
This is as Ojudu, a former Senator from Ekiti state and top notch journalist revealed his role in plotting and scripting the impeachment of Fayose.
According to the eminent journalist, he masterminded the impeachment with the support of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
This revelation came during an interview on Edmund Obilo’s podcast, “State Affairs.” During the interview, Ojudu detailed how he orchestrated the move, including relocating Ekiti State lawmakers to Lagos to influence the impeachment process.
He added that part of the broader strategy was to impeach Fayose while ensuring his deputy was not removed from office.
However, Ojudu revealed that when Obasanjo realized he was being used in this political manoeuvre, he reportedly fought back.
Meanwhile, Fayose was eventually impeached over allegations of corruption and mismanagement, leading to a state of emergency being declared in Ekiti State.
He said: “I plotted and scripted the impeachment of Fayose in Ekiti. I used Obasanjo and when he realized it, he fought back against me.
“I had an agreement and signed that Fayose should be impeached but make sure his deputy is not. I took all the lawmakers to Lagos where I kept them in hotels and was feeding and taking them around.
“I was not a senator; I was a journalist who had money, and my friends gave me money. They were not happy with him, I saw that weak link and I exploited it.
“Obasanjo was angry and gave the deputy governor soldiers to return to Ekiti and proclaim herself as governor. When she got there, I called people to resist her and they had no alternative but to declare an emergency.
“Fayose sued me for libel and Falana was my lawyer, I went to court and presented my facts, and by the time we finished, Justice Daramola told Fayose ‘You have no honour and integrity.’”
The New Diplomat reports that Fayose’s impeachment took place in October 2006 but was later nullified by the Supreme Court in 2014 for lacking due process.
It would be recalled that Fayose rose to political prominence by defeating the incumbent governor, Niyi Adebayo, in the 2003 Ekiti State gubernatorial election, becoming the second governor of Ekiti State. His tenure began on May 29, 2003.
However, his first term was cut short with an impeachment on October 16, 2006, amid allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
Despite this setback, Fayose re-entered the political scene and won the Ekiti State governorship again in 2014, defeating Kayode Fayemi in a hotly contested election.
