Fayose has right to probe Fayemi – Court

An Ekiti High Court on Wednesday affirmed the legality of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the state government to look into financial transactions of the state between 2010 and 2014.

In his ruling, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, said the Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has powers to run affairs of his state and that he had exclusive rights to set up the commission of inquiry without the prompting of the House of Assembly and that he properly so acted.

Accordingly, all other reliefs seeking to set aside and perpetually restrain the Commission were dismissed.

Justice Ogunmoye, averred that the state governor acted pursuant to Section 2 (1) of the Commission Inquiry Law Cap C10 Laws of Ekiti State.

Fayose had in May, this year, constituted a judicial panel, led by a former acting chief judge of the state, Justice Silas Oyewole, to probe Fayemi’s administration between October 2010 and October 2014 over alleged financial misappropriation.

Fayemi had filed suit No. HAD/57/2017, seeking an injunction to restrain the state government and the Judicial Commission of Enquiry set up by Governor Ayodele Fayose to probe his administration from going ahead with the exercise.

The Minister for Steel and Minerals Resources Development also alleged that all the members of the panel were the governor’s apologists, adding that there was no way the panel would be fair to him.