It is no longer news that the governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose has declared his intention  for the country’s top most political position, the presidency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

His   declaration has elicited mixed reactions from Nigerians. While his admirers viewed the ambition as a lofty one that would reshape  Nigeria’s politics, his adversaries  saw his position as ill-fated and not in good  taste. However, which ever opinion one adduced concerning Fayose’s  ambition was just a fundamental right  as democracy allows plurality of opinions.

In the last few months, particularly when the presidency began wearing a gloomy face owing to president Muhammadu Buhari’s  protracted ill-health, several people have begun consultations to take over the leadership of the country in 2019. Former vice president Atiku Abubakar, former governor of Jigawa, Alhaji Sule Lamido, former Chief Security Officer to Gen  Sanni Abacha, Major Al-Mustarpha and others who are still concealing their moves discreetly. But as numerous as these presidential aspirants are, all will be judged based on antecedents and contributions in trying periods before they can muster enough acceptability across the six geo-political zones of the nation.

Governor Fayose is a serving governor in Ekiti State and also double as the chairman of the PDP governors forum. In terms of politics, Fayose has imprinted  his name in gold in the politics of the nation. one, he was the first Nigerian citizen to have defeated two incumbent governors in two different elections. In 2003, governor Fayose a neophyte came like a tsunami and defeated Otuba Niyi Adebayo of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). In another election,               this enigma defeated Dr. Kayode Fayemi of all Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014.

The foregoing was not the only trail-blazing political record of Fayose, he was the first Nigerian that trounced an incumbent governor in all the Local governments.

Taking cognisance of these, Fayose’s political wizardry is fast assuming an enigmatic stature and no one could doubt his ability to be able to navigate the winding political routes and clinch the PDP’S ticket .

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In the last two years, governor Fayose has been acknowledged far and near over his vociferous opposition role to the APC-led Federal Government. At a time when people seemed to have buried their heads in the sand and played ostrich to the happenings of the various intimidation, governor Fayose kept the tempo of criticisms, pointing out areas  where the Buhard’s Government  had derailed to strengthen our democracy.

This consistency has buoyed his acceptability and confirmed him as a bold person who can weather any political storm no matter how titanic.

With the seeming disillusionment of people with the situations in the country, time has come for Nigerians to place high premium on capacity and merit of candidates and drop the toga of emotions based on ethnic and religious affinities. People should probe into the past records of performances and draw their inferences.

For Governor Fayose, he ruled the state between 2003-2006, where he embarked on and established landmark infrastructural policies that made his return easier after eight years in the political wilderness.

The viewpoint is written by a class teacher at Ikere High school, Dalimore Aluko