By Banji Ayoola
Ekiti State Governor-elect, Dr John Kayode Fayemi, has explained why he was reelected by the people of the state in last Saturday’s election, even as he reeled out his programmes.
He spoke in an interview with Channels Television, saying that his people returned him to power to complete the developmental projects which he embarked upon in his first term which was cut short by a court judgment in 2014.
Specifically, he said that the people of the state chose him to continue and complete his \”unfinished business\” in the Ekiti Government House, adding that his victory means so much, not only to him but also to the people of the state.
His words: “This victory means, at the Ekiti State level, a determination by our people to really have governance on a serious level back in Ekiti State. That’s why the people have shown faith, by returning us to power.
“On a national level, this victory means that the propaganda out there about our party (APC) being a party of tribalists and people who are just interested in a section of the country is not selling to ordinary Nigerian.”
Shedding light on what he meant by ‘unfinished business,’ Fayemi said his return as the Governor of Ekiti is to continue developmental projects in the state, stating: “I already explained that there is unfinished business. The clock of progress and development in Ekiti stopped in October 2014.
\”My coming back is to restart the clock and get it back to the developmental trajectory. What we have witnessed in Ekiti in the last four years is arrested development.
“When I say reclaiming the land, it is not just about the physical reclamation of any land, it is about the reclamation and restoration of the values of our people.
“It is a return to decency, decorum and dignity. A return to a sense of self-worth and self-respect. A return to respect for our elders and traditional institution. It is a return to seriousness in government.”
On his position on the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP\’s disagreement to the election outcome and threat to challenge his victory in court, he said he is not afraid of tribunals.
Accept victory in good faith, he tells PDP, Olusola
In a related development, Fayemi, has charged the PDP and its candidate in last Saturday’s election, Prof Kolapo Olusola, to accept defeat in good faith.
Addressing reporters after he was hailed by a large crowd of APC supporters who had trooped out to partake in his victory rally, in Ado Ekiti, on Sunday, he advised said Governor Ayodele Fayose and his Deputy, who was PDP’s candidate in the election, to emulate him and concede defeat as he did when he lost his election to Fayose in 2014.
He spoke at the party’s secretariat in the state capital counselling: “Let them behave the way we behaved in 2014; we should all know that in an election of this nature, you can only have one Governor at a time.
“We conceded in 2014 and our counterparts on the other side should accept defeat for peace to reign in Ekiti State and they should refrain from violence for Ekiti to enjoy peace.”
His words: “The very nature of elections is divisive as we cannot all see things from the same perspective, neither can we all have same preference for political parties and candidates.
“However, regardless of how we voted yesterday (Saturday), I encourage us all to accept the results in true democratic spirit and commence the journey to reuniting our state.
“Despite the divisive nature of the contest, I want you to remember our bond of unity as Ekiti people. I, Dr John Kayode Fayemi, hereby offer myself to be Governor of all irrespective of faith, creed or political belief.”
He said:that the Lord had liberated Ekiti from slavery with his victory at Saturday’s poll,” pledging: “We will proactively explore all avenues within the limits of the law, especially through the Transition Committee to be set up very soon, to ensure the outgoing administration prioritise the payment of the backlog of salaries to all categories of workers and pensioners.”
Fayemi’s arrival at the APC secretariat had caused a lockdown on the Ikere Road area of the town as APC faithful and supporters trooped out in their numbers to greet their Governor-elect.
He said that the people of Ekiti State, especially government workers and pensioners, need immediate succour from the suffering they are going through, promising to initiate the process of easing their pain by offsetting unpaid arrears in collaboration with the outgoing government.
According to him: “As we look forward to the inauguration of the new APC administration on Tuesday, October 16, 2018, I offer my assurances that we will not wait till then to bring immediate succour to you.”
While addressing the crowd outside the secretariat, he said: “God has liberated Ekiti from slavery, He has given us new Ekiti, He has restored peace to Ekiti.”
He promised to restore good governance, values and ethos that Ekiti people are renowned for, noting that bad governance, brigandage and abuse of power will become a thing of the past.
He praised security agencies, election observers, INEC, labour, media, traditional institutions and the international community for contributing to the success of the poll.
APC urges him to rebuild economy, thanks election stakeholders for success
His party, the APC has congratulated the Governor-elect on his victory.
A statement signed by the party’s national publicity secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, noted that Fayemi ran an effective and a positive campaign focused on his agenda of rebuilding the economy of the state and returning its lost values of integrity, prudence and decency.
It also commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, local and international observers, and other stakeholders, for their admirable role in making the Ekiti gubernatorial election one in which the people’s will prevailed.
Catholic priests ask PDP to accept defeat
Reacting, Catholic priests in the country congratulated Fayemi, and asked the PDP to accept defeat; noting that with INEC declaration, it was obvious that the electorate voted for individual and not for political party.
The priests, under the aegis of Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria and Justice Development and Peace Commission, two agencies of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, therefore, called on Nigerians to “study the antecedents of candidates in less known political parties and vote for them” in the 2019 general elections.
In a statement by the International Director of CCFN and Executive Secretary of JDPC, Rev. Fr. Evaristus Bassey, the priests commended the Independent National Electoral Commission for demonstrating transparency in the declaration of results.
They also advised all other parties, especially the PDP, to “accept their defeat in the spirit of sportsmanship as was exemplified by Fayemi in his earlier defeat and by the excellent example of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who in our opinion, deserves a Noble Prize for Peace by the very fact of his concession in the 2015 Presidential Election.”
The statement read: “Caritas Nigeria and JDPC, the relief and development organs of the CBCN, join well-meaning Nigerians in congratulating Kayode Fayemi as the Governor-elect of Ekiti State in a keenly contested gubernatorial election.
“From reports from our observers, INEC did a credible job, and if there was anyone that attempted to compromise the process, it was the two major political parties, with their strategy of vote buying. INEC has demonstrated transparency in the declaration of results, and we hope that leading to the 2019 elections, the same transparency would suffice.
“Let no one be deceived that the Ekiti people voted for a political party; they certainly voted for Fayemi because they could compare his previous tenure with that of the outgoing Governor. We use this opportunity, therefore, to urge Nigerians to, come 2019, vote for credible candidates irrespective of their political parties.
“Nigerians should take time and study the antecedents of candidates in less known political parties and vote for them, so that we do not keep on recycling people with baggage that is inimical to the common good. Only garbage is good enough for recycling.”
Election shows Ekiti people want APC – Akeredolu
Fayemi’s vctory in the April 14, 2018 election shows that Ekiti people are tired of being a lone state in the South West not governed by the ruling APC, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredeolu of Ondo State has said.
He spoke with journalists in the Hague, the Netherlands on Tuesday, on the margins of President Buhari’s official visit to the Netherlands.
The Governor who is part of the President’s delegation to the European country commended the people of the neighbouring Ekiti for keying into ‘‘the great Nigeria project’’, under an APC-led administration.
His words: ‘‘The victory of Fayemi is a product of research. We have a party at the centre controlling 24 States. I was part of the campaign and the people of Ekiti were tired of being a lone state in the South West that were not part of the Federal set up.
‘‘They were like a sore thumb being the only state in the South west not governed by APC, so the people had to key into the great project called Nigeria that we are trying to reinvent.
‘‘The people were ready to restore their land and values back because the values were lost. The people went out to vote in Ekiti to make sure that the reclaim their values.”
It confirms APC popularity among Nigerians – Aregbesola
Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, in his congratulatory message described the victory as a triumph of the progressives.
In a statement in Osogbo by his Media Adviser, Mr. Sola Fasure, he said the victory was a “hard fought and won battle that brought liberation to the people of Ekiti State.”
According to him, Fayemi’s affirmation was also an indication of the rising popularity of the APC across Nigeria.
This, he said was a swift sweeping of the electoral stakes in the country that began in 2015 and has continued till now.
“In spite of the challenges and the formidable opposition, the people of Ekiti stood behind the party and voted for our candidate on Saturday.
He expressed happiness that the victory has given the APC a fresh four-year mandate to provide leadership and good governance in the state.
“That victory signposts the wrap up of the South West by the APC, Ekiti State being the last bastion of the dying PDP dinosaur that has wreaked havoc in the region and Nigeria in general.
“It is a new dawn of progressivism in the South West and an opportunity to re-enact the golden era of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, under whose progressive platform the region recorded unprecedented development, through regional integration and socio-economic cooperation.”
He also congratulated Fayemi’s running mate, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, the progressives in Ekiti State and across Nigeria, leadership and all members of the APC, who worked hard for the victory.
Fayose’s defeat will end stomach infrastructure – Sagay
The Chairman, Presidential Advisory Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), hailed the ouster of the PDP in Ekiti State, adding that it would mark the end of stomach infrastructure.
Speaking during an interview on Monday, he described the outgoing Governor as a person who exploited the poverty of his people for personal gain.
His wwords: “I think Ekiti people have restored their sense of self-respect and dignity because to have elected a Fayose was a self-inflicted insult and he insulted them by saying he won the election on the grounds of promising them stomach infrastructure.
“It was a very big insult because what he was saying is that the Ekiti people live solely for the sake of eating. That is why stomach infrastructure was a very big insult. And he insulted them for four years; he ran the state down.
“He didn’t pay salaries. Altogether, he was a disaster. So, this election was a way of voting Fayose out because I don’t think his deputy was the real candidate. In voting out Fayose, Ekiti people have restored their sense of self-respect and we will no longer call them stomach infrastructure state but as a serious people who look at their progress instead of food.”
He advised Fayose and his team not to bother going to court but accept the result in the spirit of sportsmanship.
He said when the PDP rigged the election in 2014, Fayose did not complain “but is now crying foul because the results doesn’t favour him.”
Though the senior advocate lamented the issue of vote-buying in the election, he argued that it could not have affected the outcome of the election since both sides engaged in it.
EFCC disowns tweet on Fayose – Punch
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has disowned a recent gloating tweet that announced the imminent revival of a criminal case against outgoing Governor Fayose.
In a statement on Monday night, spokesman of the commission, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, said the “purported tweet does not represent the views of the EFCC”.
The tweet, which appeared on the EFCC’s verified Twitter handle, @officialEFCC on Sunday afternoon, said the commission had dusted a N1.3 billion fraud case file against Fayose.
It came few hours after the Independent National Electoral Commission announced the results of Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti.
Fayose’s deputy, Prof. Kolapo Olushola of the PDP, lost the election to Fayemi of the APC.
The tweet read: “The parri (party) is over, the cloak of immunity torn apart, and the staff broken.
“Ekiti Integrated Poultry Project/Biological concepts Limited N1.3 billion fraud case file dusted off the shelves. See you soon.”
The post, accompanied with the photograph of what looks like a dilapidated poultry structure, was deleted about three hours later.
But before then it had gone viral online, eliciting criticisms from many Nigerians who interpreted it as a reflection of the commission’s partisanship.Uwujaren said, “In the opinion of most commentators, the tweet betrayed the partisanship of the EFCC in the political contest in Ekiti State.
“Against the background, the commission is constrained to state that the purported tweet does not represent the views of the EFCC.
“As a law enforcement organisation the commission is apolitical and was not involved in the recent Ekiti election.
“It, therefore, has no reason to gloat over the political misfortune of any candidate or political god-father.”
He said although there was a subsisting criminal charge against Fayose, the fate of the charge would be determined by the Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti, at the expiration of his tenure, not the EFCC.
Photo: Ekiti State Governor-elect, Dr Kayode Fayemi
