ABUJA, Nigeria, Oct 19, SPA -- Nigeria's president declared a state of emergency Thursday in a troubled southwest state where he said the impeachment of the governor by the local legislature violated the constitution. Legislators in southwest Ekiti state voted to remove Gov. Ayo Fayose on Monday after finding him guilty of siphoning state funds into personal bank accounts and receiving kickbacks, the Associated Press reported. President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed a retired military general, Tunji Olurin, to administer the state and maintain security there for the next six months. He also suspended for six months the state legislature, along with Fayose, his deputy and Friday Aderemi, the former speaker of local parliament who is claiming to be governor. «I hereby declare a state of emergency in Ekiti state,»Obasanjo said in a national broadcast. The removal of Fayose was illegal because some steps in the impeachment process violated Nigeria's constitution, Obasanjo said.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/397054