Stop playing politics with lives of Ekiti people, stop killings by herdsmen – PDP tells Fayemi

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State has decried incessant killings by suspected Fulani herdsmen in the state.

The party, therefore, challenged the state Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, to stop playing politics and take decisive steps to end the mindless killings.

The PDP, which sympathised with families of the people killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Ikole Local Government area of Ekiti State yesterday, said “the killing by herders must stop now and that the Governor Fayemi must act with sincerity of purpose.

In a statement on Sunday by the PDP State Publicity Secretary, Raphael Adeyanju, the party said the Governor must stop shedding crocodile tears and acting political correctness on the killings in the State.

The statement read; “Governor Fayemi should learn from his immediate predecessor, Ayodele Fayose and take proactive steps like he did then.

“We are even more worried now that the governor has more or less declared to Ekiti people that they are on their own by telling the people of Isaba Ekiti today, that they should use traditional means to defend themselves against killer herdsmen.

“Also, it is imperative to state that the governor’s visit to Isaba Ekiti today, as good as it may be, is more of playing to the gallery for cheap political gains. This is because it has become a routine among politicians to go about paying condolence visits to families of victims of avoidable deaths and we are sure that after the visit of today, the government will pay no attention to those left behind the victims.

“Rather than condolence visits, what is important to us in PDP is the government putting a permanent stop to the killings and giving life back to those hapless women and children whose bread winners were murdered owing to government negligence and carelessness.

“It is also important that leaders of Fulani herders in the State are summoned by the government and handed a matching order to produce killers of those three persons in Isaba Ekiti because they cannot claim not to know the killers among their people.

“The governor must have to engage leaders of the Fulanis as done by Fayose when he was governor so that they can join hands with government to flush out criminal elements among them.

“Most importantly, Governor Fayemi must stop giving consideration to his future political ambition at the expense of the lives and properties of Ekiti people. Or of what importance is a political ambition that is nurtured with the blood of the people of Ekiti?”