During his appearance on ‘Politics Today’ on Channels Television, former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, openly expressed that he has no regrets about actively opposing the presidential aspirations of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the lead-up to the February 25th election. Fayose firmly stated that he was not afraid of potential expulsion from the party due to his anti-party activities.
Furthermore, Fayose made it clear that despite President Bola Tinubu’s victory, he has no intentions of defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“I am still a member of the PDP, except the PDP says ‘Fayose, we don’t want you anymore.’ Then they have set me free of the yoke. But in all sincerity, it is a party that I believe in, subscribe to, and want to stay forever. I will never join the APC,” he said.
Continuing the conversation, the former two-term governor acknowledged that he has always openly admired the President, who has consistently demonstrated his leadership in the Yoruba race over time. Fayose also admitted to consistently placing birthday advertisements in prominent newspapers throughout his tenure as governor of Ekiti.
He said, “I have never hidden my position on Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Let me remind you very quickly. I never knew Asiwaju would be president of Nigeria, and there was no time in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 that I did not celebrate his birthday on the newspapers’ pages as Ekiti State’s then-governor. One of the messages I passed along at that time was that, party politics notwithstanding, he would remain our leader in the West for a long time.
“Even when the APC was playing games, I stood up to remind President Buhari that Asiwaju was largely instrumental in his becoming president of Nigeria. As a Yoruba man, he deserves to be accorded respect. I want to remind you again that in 2021, I said all the shenanigans against him by those behind him would be defeated.
“I never knew he would be president of Nigeria. When he got back from the knee surgery treatment that he went for, I openly, during the day, went all the way to Bourdillon to welcome him back. I counted the costs before I took those actions. If Tinubu is not an example to identify with, somebody like me would not identify with him.
“Let me also tell you that, till today, I have not materially or by position benefited from Asiwaju. Despite being a member of the PDP, I was the first Nigerian to say that it is the turn of the South, and I have no regrets making that statement.”
He says Nigerian politicians must learn to remain upright leaders beyond party politics.
This was even as the former governor claimed he wouldn’t feel bad if he was expelled from the opposition party, saying his sacrifice for Nigeria’s unity would be appreciated someday.
“I am 63 years of age. I won’t jump from one bed to another. I would rather leave politics if it will get to that stage. When Buhari became president in 2015, the majority of our party leaders including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar left the PDP and went to support Buhari. Otherwise, the PDP would have still been in power. So don’t let us go there. Now that election has come and gone and we are in governance. Do we now say that Asiwaju is the president of APC? The answer is no. If I can go to Bourdillon to see him during the day without hiding, going to see him at the Villa is what?
“Don’t get it wrong. I worked against him (Atiku) 100 percent. Nigeria is bigger than the PDP, APC, and even Asiwaju himself. Let us call a spade a spade. I am not a man who will hide my actions. If PDP doesn’t need me again, they cannot say I cannot live. But I love the PDP, even though the party has not been fair to me. I am a principled man. So let me say to you, chill. I never worked for the PDP during the last election. I am not a liar or a pretender. I did not work for PDP,” he stated.