Ekiti must unite against violence, kidnapping —Fayemi
Written by:
Sam Nwaoko-Ado Ekiti
Former governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Sunday, made a dramatic appearance in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, where he commiserated with the Ewi of Ado Ekiti,Oba Rufus Adejugbe, over the recent violent clash in the state.
Fayemi, who arrived at the palace with some members of his cabinet, said he had come to identify with the monarch over the incident.
He also visited the Hausa community in the town, at their new site in Sasha as well as the scene of the market inferno, at the Erekesan Market in Ado Ekiti.
The chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) promised that the incoming administration at the Federal Government would render assistance.
The chieftain of the APC also condemned the spate of kidnappings of Ekiti professionals and other innocent people.
According to him, the negative image of Ekiti had begun to take its toll on the economic activities in the state.
“Some of my colleagues and friends would have accompanied me to Ekiti, but many of them declined the invitation as a result of the spate of violence and kidnapping. I don’t think Ekiti deserves this negative label which is why I am calling on well meaning indigenes of this state to join hands with those who are willing to return peace to the state,” he said
He decried the sudden degeneration in the relationship between indigenes and settlers to the level where they destroyed each others properties.
Fayemi charged the people to join hands against violence and kidnapping which, according to him, was “strange to the culture of the land.”
In his response, Oba Adejugbe thanked the ex-governor for the visit, and urged him not to relent in his efforts to ensure that the peace reigned in the state.
The monarch hinted that a committee, which he said comprised of major stakeholders, had been put in place to ascertain the extent of damage during the clash.
The monarch said many of the victims of the cash had been seeking for assistance as many of them actually took loans to set up their businesses which were consumed by fire.
Ekiti people, according to the Oba, are “very accommodating,” saying that they should not allow the relationship to be affected by ethnicity or politics.
