– Governor Ayodele Fayose was absent from the PDP national convention– Fayose says he was placed under “house arrest” hence could not attend the event– The Ekiti state governor has decried the ugly developmentGovernor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state was reportedly placed under house arrest, hence stopping him from attending the aborted national convention ofthe Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).Governor Ayodele Fayose says he was placed under house arrest in Port Harcourt, hence, denied the opportunity to attend the PDP national convention.Fayose said he was stopped from attending the national convention of the PDP, in Port Harcourt, Rivers state Wednesday by security operatives that blocked the gate to the old old Presidential lodge in Rivers state Government House, Port Harcourt where he lodged.The Ekiti state governor said the security operatives blocked the gate with an armoured personnel career (APC).READ ALSO:I placed a curse on PDP five years ago – Enugu politician spits fireA statement by his media aide, Mr Leye Olayinka described the alleged actionof the security aides as a clear case of “house of arrest”.The media aide said all appeals to the security personnel at the gate to allow the governor go out to attend the convention were ignored.The governor decried the ugly development in the statement which read:“I was under ‘house arrest’ in PH. I was not at the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because I was placed under ‘house arrest’ at the Old Presidential Lodge, Rivers state Government House where I lodged.”The governor, who was conspicuously absent at the convention which was eventually held at the state secretariat of the party after security agencies had sealed off the initial venue, was prevented from moving out as the gate tothe Old Presidential Lodge was blocked by an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC).Special Adviser to the governor on social media, Lere Olayinka disclosed thatall entreaties to allow Fayose to step out to attend the convention were rebuffed by the security personnel on ground.Punch reports that when contacted for comments, the state police commissioner, Mr Francis Odesanya said it was not true.“That cant be true . It is not to my knowledge. How did the other excellencies( governors) go out of their lodge”Odesanya asked rhetorically.Odesanya said that he did not seal off the convention venue of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but was only providing security.A blockade mounted by the police on a road leading to Sharks Stadium, the venue of the botched PDP National Convention on Wednesday, August 17.Odesanya explained that by his action, he was only complying with a court order, even as he said that he was not in a position to interpret court judgement.Two Federal High Courts in Abuja and Port Harcourt had given conflicting positions on the PDP National Convention that was to hold in the Rivers Statecapital.While the court in Port Harcourt had ruled that the convention should hold, the Abuja High Court ordered that the exercise should not hold and warned police and the Independent National Electoral Commission to stay away fromit.Moscow Road leading to the convention venue. Photo: PunchBut while the police seal off the venue of the convention, the state CP insisted that his men were only providing security.“I did not seal off the convention venue. I was only providing security. I was only obeying a court order. It is not my duty to interpret court order,” Odesanya stressed.However, as of 11.35am, most PDP delegates were nowhere around the Sharks Stadium, venue of the convention.Meanwhile, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state, Senator Godswill Akpabio,and other leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have described the situation surrounding the party as the beauty of democracy.READ ALSO:Tension in Niger Delta: What Navy has unveiled will send militants running (photos)The duo with others, told journalists at the aborted party convention in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, August 17 that the challenges in the party were working for the party’s good and would make it come out stronger and more united.PD supporters at the venue of the convention in Port Harcourt.The party stalwarts who were adorned in the PDP uniform, stated that the PDP has structures that were laid to stand the test of time and expressed satisfaction with the large turn-out of delegates, including former governors, former chairmen of the party at the convention.They were optimistic that at the end of the turner the party will weather through the storm and eventually emerge victorious.They said the party, undermining the present challenges, would be prepared to wrestle power from the APC led federal government, saying the APC had failed Nigerians considering the hunger and poverty bedeviling the majority of Nigerians.Governor Okowa, whose Delta State has remained a PDP stronghold since the inception of democracy, said undermining the issues surrounding the party at the moment, it would not relent in its bid provide good leadership to Nigerians andpull the presidency from the All Progressives Congress in APC 2019.
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