Wole Balogun, Ado Ekiti
Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has told the former minister of Works, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, and other aggrieved chieftains of the People’s Democratic Party that they are free to decamp to the All Progressives Congress (APC) if they were displeased with the adoption of his deputy, Kolapo Olusola, as his successor.
Fayose, who spoke at the rally held at Okesa area of Ado Ekiti, where his deputy declared his governorship bid, took a swipe at the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, where he said the APC administration is sick and failing the people.
“When a government is sick, it is the leader that is sick and when a government is failing , it is the leader that has failed.
“When Boko Haram takes over the space , when herdsmen are killing the people and when economy is completely down, then the leaders have failed the people,” he said.
Fayose also added that he was not in any way rattled by the negative utterances being hurled against him by anti-Olusola aspirants.
He said: “The PDP has taken a position; I say we have taken a position and we have no apologies for that and the position is that Olusola should take over after me, as the governor of Ekiti. It doesn’t matter to us how many people are abusing us by our action.
“They are even free to join our adversaries, but, we will defeat them as the God liveth.
“Olusola never said he wanted to be deputy governor, but God instructed me to pick him. I said we will go together after our tenure, but God said I should allow him to stay; that what I said was my own opinion. This is a show of strength to tell them, I mean the APC , that we are here. We have what it takes to win election.”
Adeyeye has, however, accused the governor of coercing civil servants, students, political appointees, students, councillors, to attend Olusola’s political rally, whom they described as the governor’s stooge. He said such development is despicable.
Adeyeye, as well as Senator Abiodun Olujimi, former envoy to Canada, Ambassador Dare Bejide and immediate past commissioner for Justice and known Fayose protégé, Owoseeni Ajayi, had jointly condemned the governor’s support for Olusola. Adeyeye, who hails from Ise Ekiti, in Ekiti South Senatorial District, formally declared his governorship ambition in Ado Ekiti, last Wednesday.