US embassy cable - 04LAGOS296

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000296 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - HANDLE ACCORDINGLY 
 
LONDON FOR GURNEY, PARIS FOR NEARY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KDEM, PINR, NI 
SUBJECT: EKITI UPDATE: HIS AND HER EXCELLENCIES 
 
REF: 2003 LAGOS 2349 
 
1. (U) Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governor Peter Ayodele 
Fayose and his wife Feyisetan of tiny, impoverished Ekiti 
State have had their Public Relations Director working 
overtime recently to "spin" them a high-profile, positive 
public image. The couple has been appearing almost weekly in 
newspaper "personality" pieces proclaiming undying love and 
admiration for each other, and extolling the power of prayer 
to solve all problems, governmental and personal. 
 
2. (U) On the darker side, Her Excellency (Mrs.) Fayose, as 
she prefers to be called, has somehow escaped an NGO suit 
against 26 "first ladies" which includes the wives of the 
president, vice president and at least six of the 36 
governors.  The ladies are 
being accused of fraud and corruption for the misuse of funds 
through "foundations" set up in their names.  Although she 
has no verified training or experience in any field, one of 
the first things Mrs. Fayose did when her husband took office 
was to set up the "Fayose Foundation," which is said to be 
involved in health care, education, services for the elderly, 
entrepreneurial 
programs, etc. (Reftel).  She claims that her education 
program and program to feed people with HIV/AIDS has already 
lowered the number of HIV/AIDS sufferers in Ekiti State -- 
although she does not say how the patients were identified, 
how many there were or are now, and, most important, how her 
"Foundation" is financed. 
 
Fighting to save his office 
 
3. (U) For his part, His Excellency is fending off lawsuits 
on several fronts.  The most important suit was brought in 
the Elections Tribunal by the Alliance for Democracy Party 
(AD) shortly after Fayose was elected in April.  This suit 
charges that Fayose presented falsified documents when he 
registered to become a candidate.  The case has been 
dismissed or postponed on technicalities three times.  When 
the Tribunal finally sat to hear the case on January 27, the 
courtroom was invaded by armed "thugs believed to have been 
sponsored by top politicians" according to police reports. 
The police, who had been dealing with violence between the AD 
and PDP supporters since Fayose's election, were prepared and 
out in force around the courthouse.  They were able to disarm 
the protesters and force them from the courtroom.  The trial 
was postponed. 
 
4. (U) When the trial resumed on February 3, the court wanted 
to know why the diplomas and school certificates Fayose had 
presented as a candidate were for a "Peter Ayodele Oluwayose" 
and not Peter Ayodele Fayose.  Fayose's father testified that 
in 1974 God had told him to change the family name to 
"Oluwayose" or he would die.  The Governor swore that he only 
changed his name back to Fayose in 1994, and for this reason, 
all his school records are in the name "Oluwayose."  Lawyers 
for the AD presented results from an investigation they said 
showed "Oluwayose" was actually a person who lived in Ibadan 
in Oyo State and was the owner of the diplomas and school 
certificates.  They further pointed out that Fayose was 
unable to present any document at all, such as a passport or 
driver's license, showing that he had used the name 
"Oluwayose" at any time prior.  A decision is expected soon 
from the Tribunal. 
 
5. (U) The Governor is also being sued for 5 billion naira by 
Omegabank for damages to its business reputation.  The bank 
had been the Ekiti State's central bank since the State was 
created.  State funds were deposited with Omegabank and the 
bank says it frequently provided loans to the State when it 
was short of funds and paid State employees directly.  In 
January, Fayose removed all State funds from Omegabank and 
alleged that the bank had been over-charging the State 
government 500 million naira per year in fees from the 
beginning of their relationship and was now refusing to 
negotiate to reduce the fees.  The bank countered saying 
that, shortly after assuming office, Fayose had demanded that 
the bank hire some of his relatives and, most importantly, 
that the bank accept his uncle, one Adabayo Brown, as the 
chairman of its board of directors. 
 
6. (SBU) Comment.  This is just one example of the sometimes 
farcical nature of state governance Nigerian-style that says 
much about this fledgling democracy.  While many politicians 
"just don't get it" when it comes to transparency, NGOs, 
civic organizations and businesses do.  Bringing suit against 
State Governors and first ladies is a step in the direction 
of demanding accountability from politicians.  But only when 
the political high jinks result in certain losses at the 
ballot box, will Nigerians begin to see some of the dividends 
of democracy in governance.  Unfortunately, that is still a 
long way off. 
HINSON-JONES