Suspended Ekiti Assembly’s Chief Whip defects to APC

THE impeached Chief Whip of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mr. Sunday Akinniyi, has formally resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Akinniyi said on Tuesday at a press briefing that he decided to join APC due to alleged high-handedness by Governor Ayodele Fayose and disrespect for top leaders of the party.

The former chief whip also claimed that the alleged “high-handedness” was “causing internal crisis and mass defection of influential members of PDP to the opposition.”

The lawmaker representing Ikere Constituency II, who addressed newsmen at the Kayode Fayemi Campaign secretariat in Ado Ekiti, said he got “the blessing of critical stakeholders in my constituency before taking the step.”

According to him, he decided to join the governorship campaign of Dr Fayemi because Governor Fayose allegedly treated the Olukere of Ikere, Ganiyu Obasoyin, with disdain, and reneged on his alleged promise to give him recognition and staff of office.

He also alleged that Fayose neglected his constituents in major projects executed in Ikere Ekiti.

He said: “Governor Fayose said I should bring Olukere to him, which I did. He promised that he will ask the Council of Traditional Rulers to go to
Olukere’s palace and examine the place and make recommendations on how best they can recognise his stool, which they did.

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“The Obas turned in their report and Governor Fayose never acted on it. Rather than recognising Olukere, they set him up for murder and put him in detention and that was why I decided not to support the governorship candidate, Professor Kolapo Olusola.

“All the projects he did in Ikere, including the dualisation, were concentrated in constituency I. I used to raise issues about this and that was why they removed me as the Chief Whip instead of the allegation of docility and sleeping at plenary they levelled against me.”

He added that “apart from all these, the PDP that sponsored in 2015 had been in constant crises and now irreversibly divided and polarised to the extent that more than half of its members have moved out of the party in recent times to join APC.

“As a Democrat, I cannot continue to remain in a party that had been polarised by internal crises because my continued stay will not allow me to effectively represent my people.

He declared that after consultations with leaders and people of his constituency, he had resigned his membership of the PDP due to irreconcilable breaking into factions of the party in Ekiti “following the rancorous governorship primary.”

He said: “I view of this, I use this opportunity to announce my defection to APC from effect from today, June 26, 2018.”

Last week, a former Deputy Majority Leader of the Assembly, Ebenezer Alagbada of Ise/Orun had also joined the Fayemi campaign.