…As Fayose berates Buhari over economy
By RAZAQ BAMIDELE
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and his estranged friend and former secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ekiti State chapter, Dr. Temitope K. Aluko, have reconciled and reunited as friends and brothers as they used to be before a minor crisis saw them apart.
Both Fayose and Aluko met Sunday night in Lagos behind close door to resolve the lingering crisis between them since 2014.
The duo emerged from Eko Hotel Signature at midnight to declared to the waiting journalists that the crisis between them was now over and a thing of the past with a commitment to work together again to move the state forward.
The reconciliation effort was facilitated by the immediate past speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon. Dele Olugbemi, who was of the conviction that united we stand, divided we fall.
Fielding questions from the pressmen, Aluko said he had come down to see Governor Fayose, who he described as his brother, declaring that the crisis that had led to the misunderstanding between them was being resolved and that significant progress had been made towards achieving a lasting peace.
While blaming the crisis on undue interference from some quarters, Aluko said the processes leading to renewed peace between him and the governor was being achieved without any string or condition attached.
In his own remarks Governor Fayose admitted that “we are resolving the issue, we have made significant progress and we hope and pray to God that there will be peace.
“In politics, we resolve issues like this and we have made considerable progress like Aluko had said. His coming back is to further strengthen the progress he is talking about and I am sure if this is not important, he won’t be here. He is here because there must be peace.”
When asked whether he had forgiven Aluko, Governor Fayose reiterated, “You see, whether you are talking of forgiveness, Aluko remains my boy, my son.
It would be recalled that Aluko had made several damning allegations against Governor Fayose concerning how he allegedly took advantage of then federal might to subvert the Ekiti poll’s credibility, describing the 2014 election that brought Fayose back in office as
a “coup against Ekiti people.”
Meanwhile,earlier in a media interaction in Lagos, Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has warned those promoting President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term in office to stop, describing such a venture as “criminal.”
Fayose observed that “Mr. President is challenged by old age, lack of exposure and posture,” asserting that, “he has been overtaken by a global event.”
According to him, if Buhari has no capacity and capability to run the country now at 74, what magic could he perform at an older age, warning that, “Nigerians should stop bringing into power old people who are not in tune with the global trend of doing things.”
The governor, who observed that Buhari has failed in putting the economy on its right footing expressed the fear that “our economy will collapse under him,” just as he appealed to the elders to tell him the home truth before things go out of hand.
Fayose stated that criticising the President constructively would not make one his enemy, lamenting that what the president is busy doing apart from jetting around the world is intimidation of the opposition, pointing out that, no foreign investor will come to invest in a country where fear and intimidation is the order of the day.
While warning Buhari to change his attitude towards governance, Fayose accused him of being a dictator saying that the President should be told in clear term that democracy is a form of system that guarantees freedom of speech and fundamental human rights.
On the economy, the concerned governor urged the president to devalue the naira to allow people’s money guarantee adequate purchasing power in the market regretting that the economy situation in the country now is killing!
He therefore gave kudos to the former Lagos State governor ,d the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for crying out loudly recently over the issue of fuel scarcity, lamenting that “if this is happening to us in the petroleum industry under the President himself, who doubles as Petroleum Minister, the situation has become hopeless.”
Speaking on the budget, Fayose said “Buhari cannot sign it because he has no money to fund it,” saying “his China trip is to borrow money to fund the budget 50 percent of which is for debt servicing.”
The system is sick, Fayose answered, regretting that, “sadly, no foreign investors will come to invest in an economy that operates under tension and fear.”
