Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has said he did not order the demolition of an old building in his hometown of Afao-Ekiti in Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose said it was wrong for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Secretary in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area in Lagos State, David Omotoso, to assume that he (Fayose) ordered the demolition.
He said: “The attention of Governor Fayose has been drawn to allegations by David Oluwafemi Omotoso that the governor was responsible for the demolition of his family home at Afao-Ekiti.
“It is true that Governor Fayose built the Alafao Palace some years ago on the land provided by the Afao Development Council.
“However, the demolition of the building is an internal affair of the Afao Community and has nothing to do with Governor Fayose.
“It is wrong for Mr Omotoso to assume that the governor ordered the demolition of his family home.
“It is the Alafao-in-Council and the Afao Development Council which felt that the 100-year-old dilapidated roofless structure of the Omotoso family was posing danger to the pupils of near-by primary schools.
“The community also claimed that the building has become a haven to criminals, who often hide there to perpetrate crime.
“What has that got to do with Fayose? Is it because Fayose is from Afao or because he built the palace?
The Afao-Ekiti community also corroborated the governor’s claim. Acting under the aegis of Afao Development Council (ADC), they advised Omotoso not to politicise the demolition, maintaining that Fayose has no hand in it as official application was made to appropriate government agencies before the action was carried out.
The ADC, led by its President, Chief Alex Akintunde and Secretary Bisi Agunbiade, condemned Omotoso for politicising a community development effort.
Addressing a briefing at the Alafao’s Palace, ADC’s Public Relations Officer Tope Anjorin said the community had no intention to take away the land as the family was free to erect any structure on the land.
Anjorin said it was uncharitable for Omotoso to claim that the building was demolished because of his political beliefs, adding that the patriarch had other children, who were members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“We want to make it clear that Fayose has nothing to do with this demolition.”
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