House of Representatives Majority leader Femi Gbajabiamila has described Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose as a meddlesome interloper following the letter he wrote to Chinese President Xi Jinping on the alleged $6 billion loan sought by Nigeria from China.
In a letter to the Chinese leader yesterday, Gbajabiamila said Fayose ignorantly overreached himself and wilfully breached the constitution by failing to defend the oath he swore to.
The House leader, who said members of the lower chamber were worried by the flagrant abuse of office by Fayose, however, asked the Chinese leader to ignore him as he showed lack of understanding of the workings of the federal system of government.
It reads: “My attention has been drawn to a letter written to you by a governor of one of the states of in Nigerian, wherein the governor purported to speak on behalf of the Nigerian people, describing himself as a stakeholder in the Nigerian ‘project’.
“Ordinarily, I would not join issues with the governor but as the leader of the House of Representatives, I am saddled with the responsibility of driving government business and policies in the House.
“It is, therefore, incumbent upon me to set the records straight, though I am sure the letter written to you by the governor will probably receive little (if any) attention from your high office, assuming it even gets to you.
“Mr. President, Nigeria as you well-know is not a project as erroneously described by the governor, but a nation as all others in the comity of nations. It is also a federal republic operating under the principles of administrative and fiscal federalism.
“As such, as most democracies with a federal structure, Nigeria operates a three-tier government and adheres to the principle of separation of powers, which is both vertical and horizontal. Horizontal between the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches and vertical between the federal, state and local governments.
“To this extent, it is a clear affront on our constitution and ultra vires his mandate for a governor of a federating state to delve into any matter outside his state, particularly as it concerns international agreements between two sovereign nations.”
The letter added: “Therefore a governor who overreaches himself and acts outside his constitutional mandate can at best be described legally as a meddlesome interloper…
“Finally Mr. President, yes we are a democratic nation and yes citizens do have a right to freedom of expression (though not absolute), however this letter to you by an opposition governor is a new low in opposition politics.”
“What the state governor has done amounts to attempted economic sabotage and subversion. I ask, therefore, that you excuse the vituperations and exuberance of the governor as just that,” it said.
