No Regrets Supporting Jonathan – Gov. Ayodele Fayose

It has become imperative once
again to address the media on the
constitutional and political crises
being foisted on our dear State,
Ekiti by irritants of unbridled
ambitions, who are not only devoid
of spirit of sportsmanship but
implacable even when all odds are
against them and roundly rejected
by the good people of the state.
It is no longer news that I defeated
an incumbent governor in all the
16 Local Government Areas in the
State and that for the first time in
the history of Nigeria, attempts
were made to use the courts to
prevent someone who clearly won
a governorship election from
assuming office.

Since June 21, 2014 that the All
Progressives Congress (APC)
suffered that humiliating defeat,
the party has suffered defeats in
the entire local government areas
in Ekiti State in four other
elections, the latest being the House
of Assembly election in which APC
won no single seat out of the 26
seats.

Ekiti people have been persistent in
their preference for me and my
party, the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) to correct the ills of the last
four years and set the State on the
path of greatness.

Despite that Ekiti people have
consistently spoken with their votes
against the APC, Nigerians are
witnesses to the litany of illegalities
being woven by both the national
leadership of the party and its Ekiti
State chapter, all in an attempt to
rob Ekiti people of the mandate
freely given to me.

Despite receiving bloodied nose in
both the political and judicial arena
in the hands of the Ekiti masses as
represented by me, these desperate
politicians are unrelenting in their
shenanigans, the latest being the
information at my disposal that
even after May 29, the state would
not know peace.

I however trust Ekiti people to do
what is right in securing peace in
their land.
I have been severally informed that

I became the prime demolition
target of the APC national
leadership because of my overt and
unalloyed support for President
Goodluck Jonathan during the
campaigns.

Insiders in their party also told me
that APC leaders were also yet to
get over the fact that in the entire
South-West, Ekiti was the only state
they could not “rob” for General
Mohammed Buhari (rtd). The eagle-
eyed surveillance of Ekiti people
ensured that.

I wish to declare unequivocally that
I remain loyal to President
Jonathan even after May 29 as my
support for his re-election and
administration was not about
bread-and-butter.

I was convinced he was moving
Nigeria in the right direction,
despite all the noise. I have no
regrets supporting him. If same
situation presents itself again, I
would do it all over.

Let me state It clearly that if
President Jonathan is deserted by
all Nigerians today, I, Ayodele
Fayose, would remain with him. I
have chosen to be his last-man
standing.

If for this show of loyalty to Mr
President and my party, APC and
its leaders believe that the best way
to pay me back is to make Ekiti
ungovernable, the decision on
appropriate reaction belongs to the
people, whose mandate I keep in
trust.

It is ironic that those who said
worse things about the President-
elect, General Muhammadu Buhari
(rtd) when they were in opposing
parties, are the ones milling around
him today, using him as an
electoral talisman and demonizing
us for saying things of lesser
magnitude during a campaign that
was mainly characterized by hate-
messages from both divides.

I also want to put on record that if
all PDP members decamp to APC
today, I will remain the last-man
standing for the party, even a I
have no cause to denigrate the
office of the president.

I also promise APC a robust and
engaging opposition both in the
South-West, and nationally, with
me playing a prominent role.

Let me again state that I will
continue to seek peace with my
traducers and troublers of Ekiti.
Since the Supreme Court judgement
which held my 2006 impeachment
as illegal, unconstitutional, null and
void and of no effect, my
preachings have been peace.

This is to see if a hand of
fellowship as urged by elders in the
state and the nation at large would
bring sanity to the opposition
camp. It definitely has nothing to
do with cowardice; as Ekiti is a
land of the brave.

In alerting the international
community on what to expect from
May 29 as regards the threat by the
APC to make Ekiti ungovernable, I
have decided to put on notice the
United Nations (UN) and the
African Union (AU) on the
imminent reign of impunity by APC
as from May 29.

Since Ekiti people are certain to
resist the planned plundering of
their land, Nigerians and the world
at large should know who to hold
responsible in the event of anarchy
in Ekiti State in particular and the
entire Yorubaland.

God bless our land.

Ayo Fayose,

Governor, Ekiti State
22/4/15