…says ‘I won’t join those fighting to bring him down’
Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, said on Saturday that the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has paid his dues and this must be acknowledged.
Fayose, who said he would not be part of those political enemies bent on bringing the APC chieftain down politically, described Tinubu as one of the greatest builders of men in Yorubaland and Nigeria at large.
The former governor Ekiti governor, who is also a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, spoke at his Afao Ekiti residence in Ekiti State during activities to mark his 60th birthday.
He, however, assured that he would not defect from the PDP as some other leaders had done.
Fayose said, “I am not championing the course of Tinubu, I am not in the position to do that, but there is no denying the fact that Tinubu is a prominent Yoruba leader, whether in APC or in PDP. There is no gainsaying that fact. Fayose is a prominent son of the Yoruba nation. Governors Nyesom Wike, Ifeanyi Okowa and Okezie Ikpeazu are prominent sons of southern Nigeria.
“What I am trying to say is that we can’t hide their identities and goodwill for political reasons. We can’t deny their contributions. Other leaders from the North like Ahmadu Bello made different impacts. So, Tinubu has paid his dues. I have paid my dues, Okowa has paid his dues, Wike has paid his dues. We need to acknowledge them.”
Also speaking while hosting the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi, the former Ekiti governor advised him to return to the PDP, saying, “It is important for you (Ajayi) to put the past behind, return to the PDP and join hands with other leaders in the State to rebuild the party”.
Ajayi, who, in the run-up to the October governorship election in Ondo State, dumped the APC for the PDP and later abandoned the PDP for the Zenith Labour Party to contest the governorship, had been council chairman and House of Representatives member under the umbrella of the PDP.
Fayose, who described Ajayi as a force to reckon with in the politics of Ondo State, said he would thrive better politically in a mainstream and liberal political party like the PDP, saying, “The best option before you now is to return to the PDP and I am encouraging you to consider it because you need the party and the party too needs a strong political character like you”.
The former governor assured the Ondo deputy governor that all the disagreements between him and other leaders of the party in Ekiti and the Southwest region would be resolved in the interest of the PDP.
Fayose said, “There is nothing to worry about. If Governor Seyi Makinde and I have issues, Nigerians should not worry themselves about that, it is not personal. There is no regional government. Every power lies in the state. Structures in Ekiti, are different from structures in Oyo, structures in Oyo are different from structures in Lagos.
“I was the one who went to flag off Governor Makinde’s campaign in Ogbomoso. So, I cannot work for his failure. Whether he is backing Senator Biodun Olujimi or not, the fact remains that the struggle for the control of the party’s structures in Ekiti has come and gone.
“We won the congresses, but they are in court, if the court says it is Olujimi that is right, we would follow her and if the court says she has no case, they should join us so that we can move the party forward. Let us pursue our interest legitimately in the manners that will create peace in the region.”