The Iye-Ekiti community in Ekiti State has explained why it approached the state High Court after the Supreme Court had ruled that the headquarters of Ilejemeje Local Government should be moved from the town to Eda Oniyo-Ekiti.

Speaking on behalf of the community in a statement, counsel to the community, Taiwo Kupolati, said the complaint before the High Court was against the state government for failing to present before the Supreme Court the Local Government Statute No. 2 of 1999. Kupolati said this would have guided the apex court in making its decision on the matter, claiming that it was this statute that backed the original relocation of the local government headquarters from Eda Oniyo to Iye.

“The complaint is against the state government for misleading and deceiving the Supreme Court in entering a wrong judgment,” Kupolati said.

He further said that the case was aimed at “compelling Ekiti State Government to continue to implement the Statute No. 2 of 1999, which established Iye-Ekiti as the headquarters since November 1999.”

Kupolati said that was the point the government hid from the Supreme Court which led Eda-Oniyo being declared the new headquarters.

The National President of the Iye-Ekiti Development Association, Femi Kupolati, an engineer, said the action of Eda-Oniyo was fraudulent from the onset.

“They should show us the information they presented from start. The Federal Military Government reversed it because they discovered the error. It is not only Ilejemeje that was done on March 13, 1997.”

He added that Iye-Ekiti was not part of the initial court case, hence “we cannot fold our arms. We are in court now to seek justice so that the wrong can be corrected. I pray with God on our side we will get the situation corrected.”