Fayemi to Fayose: Subversion of teachers’ democratic choice illegal

The Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation has condemned Governor Ayodele Fayose’s alleged directive coercing public schools teachers to supply their names, phone numbers, accounts numbers and voter cards numbers as a prerequisite for the collection of their running grants.
A statement by the Director of Media and Publicity of the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Wole Olujobi, said the directive is an arm-twisting tactic to coerce the teachers to vote against their will in the July 14 governorship election.
Arguing that the directive is novel in the nation’s electioneering practice, he regretted that Fayose has gone beyond desperation to attempt the sabotage of the nation’s electoral process as laid down in the constitution.
The Association of Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) in an online message to members yesterday had directed all teachers to submit their names, voter cards, phone numbers and accounts numbers to their zonal chairmen as conditions for the approval of their running grants.
The message sent by an unnamed public relations officer of ANCOPSS yesterday had read:
“I am directed to inform all principals who are yet to collect running grants cheques to obtain clearances from their zonal chairmen.

“These clearances are a prerequisite to collecting cheques at the Accounts Dept of the Ministry of Education, Ado – Ekiti.
“Secondly, all principals are to compile  lists of names and voters card numbers of all members of staff latest Wednesday, 27/6/18.
“You are to use school letter head paper. It should be duly stamped and endorsed by the principal. Submit same to your zonal chairman for onward delivery to ANCOPSS State Financial Secretary.
“Note : This is an executive order from the Governor.
“Please treat as urgent.”
Noting that the governor’s conduct is strange to democratic practice, Olujobi berated Fayose for always cheating the law in all his public engagements.
His words: “We wonder why Governor Fayose is always proving that he cannot survive in a society where the law works.
“Always notorious for cutting corners for fraudulent advantage, we wonder why a chief security officer of a state should always be the one to stoke activities that can inflame passion that threatens public peace.
“This is a blatant rape on the democratic choice of the people in a representative democracy and an affront on the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We condemn this coercion and intimidation of teachers to force their choice to a single candidate in a multi-party democracy.
“Fayose has always been a threat to the institutions of democracy in Nigeria as can be gleaned from his illegal activities in the 2014 election that returned him to power as governor, and unfortunately, he is used to illegality and actions that can subvert the nation’s law in her attempt for democratic growth for development.
“We call on the law enforcement agencies to check Fayose in his unlawful and illegal activities, to protect Nigeria from sliding into autocracy where the preference of one man undermines Nigerians’ collective desire for an unfettered representative democratic practice that protects their aspirations for development and good governance.
“We also urge the teachers and other segments of the society that are living under this dictatorial condition to insist on their right to make a choice during election.”