As a fall out of the rancorous governorship primary conducted by the Ekiti State chapter of Peoples Democratic Patty, PDP, which he lost barely 72 hours ago to the incumbent Deputy Governor of the State, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, former Minister of State for Works, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, has quit the party.
He said he was moving to another party to stop the continuity agenda of Governor Ayodele Fayose which he said was not in the best interest of Ekiti people but to keep the state in perpetual slavery.
He disclosed that since he lost the PDP primary to Fayose’s anointed candidate (Olusola), not less than five parties have approached him to come over and contest on their platform.
The former PDP national spokesman promised to unveil the platform he would use to contest for the governorship “in the next forty hours.”
Adeyeye spoke on Thursday shortly after holding a meeting with members of his campaign team, the Prince Adedayo Adeyeye Movement (PAAM) at its headquarters along Ikere Road, Ado-Ekiti.
He disclosed that he has been receiving solidarity messages from all parts of the world from people who were impressed with his performance at the PDP primary.
The Ise-Ekiti prince said Fayose’s agenda was to do a third term in office by installing Olusola in a bid to perpetually corner Ekiti’s commonwealth.
According to him, he would have won the PDP governorship primary “if not for the way Fayose allegedly intimidated delegates by forcing them to wear aso ebi to the venue.”
He condemned Fayose for standing up at a stage during the primary to monitor how delegates voted adding that he complained on the matter to the Chairman of the Electoral Panel, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
Okowa, according to him, said there was nothing he could do about Fayose’s alleged intimidation of delegates inside the hall when he (Fayose) discovered that he (Adeyeye) was receiving more votes than earlier envisaged.
He alleged that Fayose coerced the delegates on local government basis to monitor how they voted which intimidated many of them.
Despite allegedly monitoring delegates, Adeyeye said many of the delegates voted against Olusola which enabled him (Adeyeye) to garner 771 votes.
He claimed that the governor who had boasted that he (Adeyeye) would not get up to 50 votes was shocked that he got 771 votes which allegedly made him (Fayose) to embark on an investigation of those who voted against Olusola.
Adeyeye accused Fayose of stealing Ekiti funds and using same to acquire property while majority of the people are wallowing in poverty.
The former Minister claimed that Fayose has wasted N8 billion Ekiti funds on chartered flights in the last three and half years while the flyover project was jerked up from N5 billion to N17 billion.
He said: “I am leaving the party because party can change but your state cannot change, party can change, your hometown cannot change.
“I can’t be part of enslavement, I can’t be part of corruption, I can’t be part of those keeping our people in poverty but spend billions of Naira on chartered flights to Abuja every year but will be riding okada at home.
“By seeking another platform, I want to tell him that he can’t be riding roughshod over Ekiti people people and he cannot turn Ekiti to one-man rule.
“Our party leaders in Abuja were surprised at my performance at the primary despite the intimidation but I told them that I can change party, party may go into extinction but Ekiti will remain.
“I will not, because of party affiliation, allow Ekiti to be destroyed. That is why we will take decision today on where we are going.
“Since Tuesday, civil servants, teachers, local government workers have become sad. Ekiti has been enveloped in mourning.
“What is paramount in my mind is to liberate Ekiti. Today, we will not reveal where we are going yet but where are no longer where we were (PDP).”
But Governor Fayose has denied the allegations, counter accusing Adeyeye of raining curses on him because he lost to his preferred aspirant.
He alleged that Adeyeye rained curses on him when he phoned him to plead with him to accept the result of Tuesday’s governorship primary in good faith.
Fayose stated this on Wednesday night while answering questions on a radio and television programme on state channels in Ado-Ekiti.
In a statement on Thursday by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, he quoted the governor as saying that he had twice called Adeyeye on the outcome of the primary election which Adeyeye lost to Fayose’s deputy, Prof. Kolapo Olusola.
“I called Prince Adeyeye twice and on each occasion, he rained curses on me and would not even listen to what I had to say. He said I should never call him again. I am not afraid of the curses because I know I have not done anything to warrant that or for the curses to have any effect on me.
” By the constitution of our party, I have the right to support anybody for any position, just like I have the right to vote for anybody during elections. I did not hide my preference for my deputy among those seeking to succeed me as governor in our party, so, I was surprised at his reaction.
“If it was him that I supported for the position, would he have done that? The process through which our candidate emerged followed due process. I did not interfere with the process and I did not manipulate anything in favour of anybody. How many state governors have supported their deputies to aspire to be governors? I have nothing personal against anybody and Olusola has been loyal, effective and committed as my deputy and I cannot repay him in a bad manner,” he said.
Fayose said he took the step to reach out to Adeyeye in line with the spirit of sportsmanship and the need to reconcile with any aggrieved person.
Adeyeye lost the primary scoring 771 votes to 1190 scored by Olusola.
After the voting by delegates ended, both Adeyeye and Olusola were asked for their opinions about the exercise by the Chairman of the Organising Committee, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State and they both praised the conduct of the exercise.
In fact Adeyeye said it was fair, transparent and credible and that Okowa was becoming an expert in organising conventions and congresses, as it was Okowa that organised last December’s National Convention of the PDP in Abuja.
