I’ll declare for presidency October 1 –Fayose
From Oluseye Ojo and Eniola Oyemolade, Ibadan
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said he will officially declare his ambition to contest the 2019 presidential election on October 1, 2017.
The governor, who said he does not hate President Muhammadu Buhari as being speculated in some quarters, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen after a South-West leadership and stakeholders’ meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ibadan, yesterday.
Fielding questions on his plan to contest the presidency? Fayose said: “Most surely. I am in the race. I am declaring on October 1. It is my right to be president of Nigeria as a citizen of this country.
“I am educated and I have experience in politics. I am vast in public administration. The people want me. I will vie for the presidency under whatever circumstances. I will contest and I will prioritise the interests of the people.”
He expressed optimism that PDP would bounce back strongly in 2019, saying: “We voted for All Progressives Congress (APC) and Buhari to give us good governance, and they failed to give us good governance. So, we will drive them out of power. The people want a person that will give them good governance. The people want comfort. Nigerians are hungry and suffering. They don’t want to suffer again.”
On the recent visit of Nigerian Governors’ Forum to Buhari in London and his exclusion from the delegates, Fayose asked rhetorically: “Why didn’t they take me to London? They obviously know very well that I’ll listen to the man whether his voice is impaired or not. I’ll be able to tell Nigerians the truth. You cannot hang on to power when you are physically unfit. I don’t hate him because I have started my own before election.
“Leadership must come with a certain level of strength. If you don’t have the strength, you cannot govern a state. Somebody, who is not fit cannot help the masses. We need a president that is hale and healthy.
“It is time for us to reposition this party without fear or favour. If our president refused to come back, then, he should remain minister of Foreign Affairs in London or ambassador to United Kingdom.”
Meanwhile, a six-point communique read by the Chairman of PDP in the South-West, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, at the end of zonal executives and leadership meeting of the party initiated the process of expelling a chieftain of the party in Ogun State, Senator Buruji Kashamu.
The leadership of the party condemned the alleged destabilising and anti-party activities of Kashamu, demanding disciplinary actions against him for his roles in the loss of the party in the elections held recently in Ogun, Ondo and Edo states.
The meeting also dissociated the zone from the activities of Kashamu and resolved further to, henceforth, desist from dealing with him in any capacity in the zone. It also directed the leadership of the party in Ogun State to stop all dealings and meetings with Kashamu and his agents until further notice
Fayose, in his comment on Kashamu, said: “All people that are destabilising the peace in PDP, we must sanction them. Nobody is greater than this party.
“If you call yourself a member of this party and you are waging war against it, definitely you are an enemy of the party. So, our meeting resolved that we don’t want him again in our party. We are not ready to have anything to do with him. We have directed all the states to steer clear of him.”
The leadership of the party in attendance also included former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel; former deputy national chairman, Chief Olabode George; former deputy governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore and Senator Femi Lanlehin, Senator Ayoade Adeseun, Elder Wole Oyelese, Bose Adedibu, Muraina Ajibola, Mulikat-Akande Adeola, Senator Hosea Agboola, Jelili Adesiyan, Femi Babalola, Asimiyu Alarape, and Tajudeen Oladipo.