Mrs. Bisi Fayemi, wife of the Governor of Ekiti state has been accused of causing the death of students during a recent protest.
Okonofua Joseph aka Joseph Icon, a 300- level student of department of Biology Education died after sustaining injuries from the protest.
The Ekiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party National New Media Group, PDP NNMG, has insisted that the wife of the State Governor, Mrs. Bisi Fayemi must be held responsible for yesterday’s violent protest by students of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE), which led to the death of some students and destruction of properties.
The group expressed its condolences to the families of those whose lives were lost, praying that God will give them the strength to bear the loss.
In a statement on Wednesday, by its State Coordinator, Bola Agboola, the PDP-NNMG asked why similar protests held by the students of FUOYE in Ikole Ekiti did not turn violent.
“In Ikole Ekiti, students of the Ikole Campus of FUOYE also protested yesterday. The protest went smoothly ostensibly because there was no police interruption.
“The chiefs in Ikole Ekiti addressed the students, calmed them down and promised them necessary intervention and that was the end of the protest,” the group said.
The group said it was obvious that Fayemi’s wife, who was on tour of local councils in the State did not play her role as a leader by addressing the protesting students and at least “promising them that government will intervene in their plight.”
The PDP-NNMG, which lamented the loss of lives and properties, added that “Information has it that the students only wanted to express their frustration on lack of power supply and exorbitant bills by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to the governor’s wife and question must be asked as to why one of the policemen in her entourage slapped one of the students.
“We were in Ekiti State when Ekiti State University (EKSU) students protested over the imposition of N10,000 late registration fee and the governor then, Ayo Fayose did not order policemen to shoot the students. Instead, he allowed them to come to the Governor’s Office where he personally addressed the protesting students and calmed them down.”
While querying the rationale behind the local governments’ tour embarked upon by the governor’s wife, the PDP-NNMG asked; "In what capacity is the governor’s wife touring local councils in Ekiti State? Where is the fund coming from? Has she replaced her husband as
governor of Ekiti State?”