Fayose cautions FG over plan to make hate speech treasonable

Governor of Ekiti State(Ayo Fayose) 

Ekiti Governor, Ayo Fayose has cautioned the federal government over its categorisation of hate speeches as act of terrorism.

He said it looks like another plot to silence the opposition, saying, “I make bold to say that saying the truth concerning the country and its rulers cannot be termed as hate speech.”

Fayose who accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the number one promoter and beneficiary of hate speeches in the country, noted that; “When the APC was looking for power, several provocative statements were made.

Nigerians are yet to forget President Muhammadu Buhari’s ‘the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood’ hate speeches and the threat by the APC to form a parallel government.”

In a statement issued in Ado Ekiti yesterday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Fayose, who said he was totally against hate speech and will support any effort to curb it, added that it was important to caution the federal government on the danger inherent in the categorisation of hate speech as treasonable.

He said, “even if the APC government is sincere with its new found hatred for hate speeches, the APC government must first apologise to Nigerians for being the number one promoter and beneficiary of hate speech.” 

The governor counselled that rather than blanket criminalising of hate speeches, the federal government should embark on reorientation of Nigerians, especially the youths on the consequences of hate speeches to the unity of the country and restore the confidence of the people in the government.