…Says Atiku Rejected Single Term Proposal
Former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, has announced on national television his decision to “stay off” the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, the main opposition party.
The former governor, who served Ekiti people from 2003 to 2007 and 2011 to 2015 on PDP’s ticket, announced his resignation from the PDP on Wednesday, while appearing as a guest on a programme on Arise Television.
However, his decision to quit the party appears to be connected with the perceived irreconcilable differences in the PDP, which according to him, has fractured the party.
Fayose said, “Let me say this, from today (yesterday) I stay off PDP. In party politics, there are certain facts you must be able to speak. I am 62, and I can’t, at this age, begin lying. When something is wrong with your family, confess.”
Fayose, who claimed to have fought for the interest of the party over the years, blamed the loss of the PDP in the presidential election on its leadership.
He opined that the PDP was already ailing before the election, with so many aggrieved aspirants, who were allegedly swindled by the leadership of the party on one the hand and the inability of the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to reach an agreement with the Integrity Group (G-5) governors.
Fayose further traced the problem of the PDP to the North-West zonal congress, which he said was rigged against Rabiu Kwankwaso in favour of Aminu Tambuwal, leading Kwankwaso leaving leaving the party.
He added, “I warned Atiku that the problem will consume PDP. I told him there was danger ahead,” adding that the G-5 governors demanded that Atiku make an official announcement to run for only one term and hand over to any member in the South but, “Ayu was leading Atiku to Golgotha.”
Fayose, however, warned the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, who was second runner up in the presidential polls, to “run away from the PDP.”
He carried that if the PDP had believed in Obi, they should have given him the party’s ticket.
Fayose saluted Obi’s courage for being able to defeat the likes of Tinubu in Lagos, describing him as “a phenomenon” and “the man of the moment.”
He however stressed that Obi’s victory in Lagos has proved that things are no longer the same.
He argued that for Obi to win in Lagos shows that the process was so transparent and as such the outcome of the election should be accepted by all.
The former governor attributed the credibility of the polls to the use of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System, BVAS, which according to him, is responsible for a realistic number of voters, compared to the past when over a million votes were churned out from some states in the Northern part of the country.
Nonetheless, he faulted some of the protesters calling for the cancellation of the polls, describing them as paid agents of the PDP.
