In Ekiti on Monday, the state deputy governor, Kolapo Olusola, led members of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state to block the two major roads leading to the state House of Assembly.

Olusola and his fellow colleagues were reacting to an alleged plan by 19 All Progressives Congress lawmakers to hold a sitting to impeach Governor Ayodele Fayose.

Apart from Olusola, other top members of the party who blocked the assembly entrance include a former Speaker, Tunji Odeyemi; the Special Assistant to the governor on Information, Lanre Ogunsuyi, and  the governor’s  Public Communications and New Media aide, Lere Olayinka.

According to the Punch:

Although nine Toyota Hilux vans carrying men and officers of the Police and the Department of State Services manned the main entrances to the Assembly, the PDP members erected canopies about 200 metres away from the Assemby’s premises.

Some of them sat quietly under the canopies erected by the Secretariat Road   while others danced to music supplied in front of the old complex.

A bus was used by the PDP members to prevent movement into the Assembly premises from the same road.

On Iyin Road, many of the party supporters also ensured that no one was allowed into the complex.

The APC lawmakers, who had since November 17 stayed away from the House proceedings, had served Fayose with an impeachment notice. They cited impunity, brigandage, stalking and other constitutional breaches by Fayose as reasons for the impeachment notice.

But Ogunsuyi told journalists on Monday that the APC lawmakers led by the   Speaker, . Adewale Omirin,   erred in law by   sending a notice of impeachment to Fayose.

He added that Omirin could not claim to be the Speaker while still challenging his own impeachment in the court.

The governor’s information aide said, “The new Nigeria which President Goodluck Jonathan and Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) all campaigned for is the one that would respect the rule of law. With this convergence, you can see that the people are standing by their governor. They are ready to defend their mandate.

“Nobody asked Omirin and other APC lawmakers not to come to the Assembly; they only decided to abdicate their duties since November 17, 2014. Impeachment procedure does not start and end with the Assembly alone. The Judiciary is involved; so their action or plan   is highly condemnable.

“We want to emphasise that they are welcome as long as they are concerned about making laws for the progress of the state; but if it is meant to come and impeach Governor Fayose, we won’t allow that.”

Ogunsuyi, however said the governor, as the leader of the state, would continue to extend the olive branch to the lawmakers.

He said, “We don’t want any unwholesome issue because the task of developing Ekiti is an onerous task that needs to be pursued with vigour. The governor doesn’t want any distraction and that is why he has been pursuing peace at all times.

“We want some measure of decorum in Ekiti. We are not proud of the era whereby we had three governors within a week. We want a stable government and that we will continue to pursue for Ekiti to be at peace.”

Odeyemi advised the APC lawmakers to sheathe their swords and allow peace to reign by putting the interest of the state above theirs.

He said,”The entire issue calls for concerns. As a former legislator, I am quite aware of the rudiment of impeachment process, but far from this, the issue of the news any impeachment will bring to Ekiti’s credibility is uppermost in my mind.

“How would they perceive Ekiti as a people nationwide? So, I am calling on my colleagues to have a rethink because we are duty bound to contribute to the development of this state. I plead with them to embrace reconciliation and forget about heating up the polity unnecessarily.”