Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state has told his predecessor, Kayode Fayemi, not to celebrate yet, describing the latter’s victory at the rescheduled governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held on Saturday, May 12 as pyrrhic.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Fayose thanked the APC delegates that picked Fayemi for doing him great favour, saying they had made his task and pain of defeating a candidate much easier with the choice of the minister ahead of July 14 gubernatorial poll.
In a statement by his spokesperson, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose said the former Ekiti state governor’s victory has only positioned him to suffer a worse and more debilitating defeat than the one he dealt him in 2014.
“In 2014 when he was the sitting governor and I was not in power, I trounced him mercilessly. I gave him 16 - 0, defeating him in all the 16 local governments, including in his home town, Isan Ekiti, he did not win a single local government.
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“Now, I have been in power for more than three years and have served the people of Ekiti well. My legacy projects are there to speak for me, and for my party the PDP, as well as for our candidate in the July 14 governorship election, Prof Kolapo Olusola-Eleka.
“I promise that Fayemi will suffer the worst defeat of his political career. After the July 14 election, he will not only suffer embarrassing defeat, he will go into political oblivion afterwards.
“He has nothing to celebrate because of the electoral disaster awaiting him. The manner of his so-called victory also leaves much to be desired as it has turned many of their party leaders and followers against him.
“To those who may not know, Fayemi’s victory has made the condition of APC worse in Ekiti. The party leaders and members know that Fayemi has no use for any of them beyond the July 14 election,” Fayose said.
He appealed to former members of the PDP who defected to the APC and who are now aggrieved with the emergence of Fayemi to return home.
“PDP is your natural habitat. This is the time for you to escape from the APC’s sinking boat and return home to a rousing welcome. We also invite other politicians not satisfied with the parlous state of affairs of our nation to join hands with PDP to rescue our nation.
“APC is falling apart everywhere, the party, which was dead before in Ekiti, has now been buried with Fayemi’s victory.
“Fayemi is the final nail on APC’s coffin in Ekiti. He may deceive them in Abuja but he is a paper weight at home. His arrogance alienates Ekiti people and any serious politician from him. He will meet his political waterloo on July 14,” Fayose boasted.
Fayemi had also issued a quit notice to Fayose and his candidate, Prof Kolapo Olusola, saying that APC is about to purge the state of the bad reputation it has earned under governor’s stewardship.
“We have seen a cynical approach to politics that exploits the penury of the poor and the vulnerability of the marginalised. We have seen the entrenchment of the disdain for elders, traditional institutions, and all forms of constituted authorities.
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“Instead of continuing the quest for freedom from ignorance, disease and want, what we have seen is a paradigm that deepens captivity to these ills.
“In short, the last four years has called into question all that we stand for as a people. The timeless values of honour, dignity, nobility and civility encapsulated in the Omoluabi ethos have been eroded,” he said.
NAIJ.com earlier reported that Kayode Fayemi cautioned his supporters against harbouring any ill feelings towards his co-contestants and those who worked for them because each of the aspirants of the APC is better than the candidate of the PDP.
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Source: Naija.ng