Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called on security operatives deployed in Ekiti state for Saturday’s governorship election to do their job within the confines of the law.
Jonathan was reacting to a Blockade of the the Ekiti State Government House by armed policemen on Wednesday, preventing supporters of Governor Ayodele Fayose from gaining access.
It was learned that a rally scheduled to take place at Fajuyi Park, near Government House, was broken up, as policemen fired teargas canisters into the crowd. According to reports, policemen went after PDP members, who fled into Government House, and flushed them out.
Governor Fayose later told newsmen that he was harassed by the security operatives. Speaking with newsmen after the incident, Fayose burst into tears, saying he was slapped, kicked and shot at by the policemen.
Narrating his ordeal, Fayose, with a neck brace, vowed never to be intimidated as he urged supporters of the party to rally behind the PDP candidate Prof. Olusola Kolapo.
And Jonathan, who reacted to this development through his media aide, Ikechukwu Eze, said, ”I am appealing to the security agencies deployed in Ekiti State for the governorship election to carry out their duties according to the laws of the land by securing the state in a manner that will enable a peaceful electoral process,” he said in a statement.
"If it is true that the state governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, was assaulted as reported in the media, my appeal is that such should not be allowed to happen again, since the governor’s constitutional immunity guarantees that he should be given official protection to freely conduct the business of governing the state.”
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