Ekiti Will Hold Jonathan Responsible For Every Violent Act of Fayose - Fayemi Campaign Organisation

By master-minding impeached former Governor Ayo Fayose to emerge as the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ekiti State shows clearly that the Jonathan presidency has no strategy other than violence for the June 21 governorship election in the state.

A statement by the spokesperson of the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Dimeji Daniels, says Fayose was teleguided to win the PDP primaries because of his anti-democratic credentials of violence and maiming, a clear pointer that the presidency and the PDP have perfected strategies to rig the June 21 governorship election.

Daniels said "What this means is that the Jonathan presidency and the PDP have no sense of history regarding Ekiti people. Ekiti people have been known to resist shady characters. This same man was sent packing with his tails between his legs by Ekiti people when it became apparent that he had no respect for human dignity. By throwing up Fayose again in a race that should involve decent people, the PDP is clearly spitting on the grave of Tunde Omojola who on 28 May, 2005 was mowed down by the murderous train of Ayo Fayose in Ifaki-Ekiti. On this same day, Ayo Fayose disrupted an Alliance for Democracy (AD) gathering at Matthew Street in Ado-Ekiti. The likes of Chief George Akosile are still alive to relive the story.

"The PDP is also spitting on the graves of Ijan Ekiti-born Dr. Ayo Daramola who was ruthlessly killed on 14 August 2006 because of his gubernatorial ambition and the students of College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti who under the administration of Ayo Fayose as governor were cut short in their prime in a most ruthless manner on 16 March, 2004. The late Attah of Ayede-Ekiti, Oba Adeleye Orisagbemi, who was forcefully whisked away from his palace by Fayose's goons on Wednesday, 12 August, 2004 all because Fayose wanted to install his cousin in his place would be stirring in his grave at this travesty. Those who lost relations and friends and those who lost limbs like Olugbenga Jaiyeola to the violence that sign-posted the Fayose administration between 29 May, 2003 and 16 October, 2006 are now being forced by the PDP to relive the gory details."

Daniels said Ekiti people have not forgot any of Fayose's violent acts foisted on the state when he was the governor, adding that this was responsible for his whitewash in the senatorial election of 2011 and that this same factor would still lead to his defeat in the June 21 governorship election.

He added that Fayose who is now the new bride of the PDP was indicted by a four-man security team instituted by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo when the panel wrote in its report that Fayose "has zero tolerance for opposition. He constantly sets in motion activities that will lead to violent acts and always travels out of town for his cohorts to perpetrate their violent acts without restraint and also create alibis".

The spokesperson of the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation said Ekiti people will hold President Jonathan and the PDP responsible for every violent act of Ayo Fayose in the run-up to the governorship election and during and after the election. The president and the PDP should also know that the days that Fayose can ride roughshod in Ekiti State are over. Every violent act of Ayo Fayose will be resisted, so is his Ogun State wanted fugitive friend. We are also putting Fayose on notice that he should conduct himself peacefully, otherwise he would be visited with the wrath of Ekiti people just like in 2006 when he was sent packing with his tails between his legs in the dead of the night."

Daniels added that it amounted to insult for the PDP to have picked a candidate like Fayose to represent it in the governorship contest of a progressive state like Ekiti, adding that the insult must be resisted by all Ekiti indigenes irrespective of political affiliations.

"It was insulting enough that Fayose ever ruled a progressive state of forward-looking people like Ekiti. It is more insulting that the Jonathan presidency and the PDP have thrown him up as their candidate again as though we were still in the stone age. Though Fayose cannot win a councillorship election in his hometown of Afao-Ekiti, but it is insulting to have such a character contest the governorship election of our dear state, particularly after the internationally acknowledged stellar performance of the Dr. Kayode Fayemi administration over the past three and half years and the elevated level of political discourse and culture. This is why all Ekiti people, irrespective of political affiliations, would unite to ward off this insult," he said.

He added that as the governor of Ekiti, Fayose looted the treasury of the state and failed the people woefully. 

"The case instituted by the EFCC against Fayose is still in court. It would not be a surprise if he eventually runs his campaign between his campaign office and various court-rooms where he is being tried for murder and corruption. 

"The Fayose administration constructed the 10.745 kilometre Ado/Afao road, but the road didn't last for six months. As is Fayose's tradition, it was another cosmetic project to defraud Ekiti. The unfortunate part of it is that Afao is Fayose's hometown, but it didn't matter to him if the road was of standard quality. That was the first road constructed by the Fayemi administration and three years down the line, the road is still in good condition. That is the road Fayose now uses to access his town from the state capital. There are also 28 elderly persons in Fayose's hometown who are beneficiaries of the social security scheme. This is besides the 10 young persons enrolled by the State Youth Volunteer Corps who on a monthly basis earn N10, 000. Under the community self-help projects of the Fayemi administration, the hall in Fayose's town has also been renovated. Governor Fayemi has done more for Afao-Ekiti people than Fayose ever did," Daniels argued.

On the allegation of Labour Party aspirant Opeyemi Bamidele that the Fayemi administration had squandered not less than N400 billion since 2012, Daniels said the federal allocation accrued to the state during this period plus the N25 billion bond accessed from the Capital Market by the State Government is not up to the N150 billion and that Bamidele has a way of twisting facts to create a sense of logic, adding, however, that Bamidele has never been consistent in his words and actions and so should be disregarded totally.

"This same man tried to use the 2006 census figures to mislead the people last year. He had claimed that there were over 494, 000 houses in Ekiti State, but that was in 2006. Bamidele built his house in Iyin-Ekiti after 2006. So, the number of houses in Ekiti in 2006 cannot be the same as in 2013. When he defected to the Labour Party, he alleged that he did that because there would be no primaries for governorship aspirants in the ACN, but on the floor of the House of Representatives, the whole of Nigeria saw him when he again said the reason for his defection was because his party merged with CPC and ANPP. That tells you how inconsistent Opeyemi Bamidele is. As it is, he has reached the end of his political career and he knows it, but like a beheaded snake, he must writhe a bit. That is what he is doing now - writhing in pain," Daniels said.

Signed:

Dimeji Daniels

Spokesperson, Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation

Haba Ekiti PDP! Ayodele Fayose Again? By Abiodun Ladepo

Posted: Mar, 24 2014, 5:03PM

By Abiodun Ladepo

What is wrong with the people of Ekiti State? How on earth could a man who was impeached for corruption and related offences a few years back return to win his party’s nomination for the same office in Ekiti State? I know this charade was sponsored and husbanded by ONLY the people of Ekiti who are in the PDP and NOT by all of Ekiti people. Still, I am forced to ask: Does the PDP in Ekiti have such a dearth of good, untainted, well-educated men and women? Why would a dog return to its vomit?  

Ayodele Fayose, a disgraced former governor of Ekiti State, recently won the state’s PDP gubernatorial primary election by a landslide - 462 votes out of the 477 votes cast. His closest rival, Caleb Olubode, a former minister, secured only seven votes while Adedayo Adeyeye and Margaret Ogundipe (both political featherweights) won three and one votes respectively. The remaining votes were shared among the other also-rans. And so, our Fayose will now contest the general election against current governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in June. Certainly, the PDP as a whole, the PDP in Ekiti State and all of Ekiti people can do without this crudity.

Until the PDP-led Ekiti State House of Assembly impeached him and his deputy, Mrs. Abiodun Olujinmi in 2006, Fayose embodied the odious stench that pervaded many a State House. Not only did he reek of corruption, he also lacked finesse and elegance that one expected out of Ekiti land. Many who supported him then and still support him now point to his “grassroots” credentials which, they argue, brought government to the ordinary people’s doorsteps as a potent political weapon in his arsenal. But grassroots political acumen should not be the sole determining parameter when selecting a State’s chief executive. Probity and integrity should come before a politician’s ability to hoodwink the electorate.  

I know that winning the PDP primary in Ekiti State in 2014 does not automatically translate to winning the governorship against an APC incumbent governor, but it is heresy to have a character like Fayose hanging around anywhere near the Governor’s office. Or, are we not talking about the same Fayose who, according to the EFCC, stole from his State’s local government councils and operated foreign bank accounts in contravention of extant Nigerian laws?

When he took the oath of office in 2003, Fayose had pledged, like all the other governors and president, to uphold the spirit and letters of the Nigerian Constitution, including Section 162, which forbade the illegal diversion of local government funds. Also implied in the oath was the strict adherence to the provisions of the Code of Conduct for public officers, including paragraph 3 which prohibited the operation, by public officials, of foreign bank accounts.

But Fayose, like many of his fellow thieves, took his oath with levity and never, for once, planned to obey it. He continued to maintain his numerous foreign bank accounts in the UK and the US, using them to stash his loot from the State's treasury - exactly why the Code of Conduct prohibited the owning and operation of those kinds of accounts in the first place. And in a brazen contravention of the Money Laundering Act of 2004, Fayose illegally transferred $100,000 of his State's money to one such account in the US.

Like many public official thieves who use proxies to steal, Fayose asked his friend, Gbenga James, to set up phony companies, (one of them was named Biological Concepts), to which he verbally awarded a phantom Poultry Farm contract and diverted close to N800 million that was part of his local governments' statutory allocations. Fayose could also not account for another N11 Billion out of N16 Billion which the Federal government had paid into the joint state/local government accounts. This did not include the hyper-inflated contracts for refurbishing the governor's office and numerous road projects which were never even started.

James, also conveniently a "building contractor," then built a N40 million house for Fayose at the Iyaganku area in Ibadan as a "gift" - a clear violation of paragraph 6 of the Code of Conduct. This was not to include another house valued at N20 million built and owned by Fayose in the same area of Ibadan just since he became governor of Ekiti State. Fayose also managed to put up a N25 million house at his hometown of Afao-Ekiti. As kickback on the contract for Fountain Hotel, this rogue received N42 million from one Abiodun Arole of Grid Associates, through one Ayobola Abiola, then of the Standard Trust Bank Plc and later with FCMB Plc, Dugbe Branch, Ibadan.  The people of Ekiti should also not forget the "paltry" N2.4million car that James bought for Fayose's prophetess mother in Ibadan, and the millions that he used to refurbish the family church located (you guessed it) also in Ibadan. This guy took corruption to a new height (or a new low, if you will) when he personally drove to Adamasingba in Ibadan (in broad daylight), waited in the vehicle with the engine running while his aide went upstairs to an office from where he literally dragged to Fayose’s car a "Ghana-Must-Go" bag full of kickback money.   

If you mingled in the night-time social circles of Ibadan between 2003 and 2006, you would have wondered, like many of us did, if there were two governors in Oyo State. At one point in 2005, the people of Ekiti State, then represented in the State's House of Assembly by mostly spineless people (until they grew a spine and impeached Fayose) whose legislative compass was supine (until they woke up from their slumber and impeached Fayose), trampled over each other in order to see their governor between Monday and Friday, because, if they failed to see him in Ado Ekiti during those days, they had to come to Ibadan on weekends to see their governor. Governor Fayose spent his weekends crawling through the night-life of Ibadan like an owl…as if his duties as governor ended on Friday afternoon in Ekiti State. Some in Ekiti State derisively referred to him as "The other governor of Ibadan."

And whenever Fayose came to Ibadan, he brought with him a retinue of hangers-on, leaches, miscreants and fellow kleptomaniacs. His thugs came with him from Ekiti and competed with those of the late Baba Adedibu on the Ring Road/Molete axis. Hoteliers on Ring Road and Oluyole areas of Ibadan did brisk business whenever Fayose was in town. He and his goons spent money as if it was the end of life itself.  Musicians sang their praises endlessly. Even those that went up the dance floor to spray musicians ended up being lavished with money by Fayose and Company.

You had to witness one of those witless orgies for you to know that it was only a matter of time before this unbridled thief ran into Nemesis. And when Nuhu Ribadu’s EFCC blackmailed the equally corrupt members of the Ekiti House of Assembly into starting the impeachment process, Fayose went back to his roots - his religious roots from way back when he was a church-going boy in his Ibadan parents' church. He dragged God's name into his bottomless chasm of corruption.

Hear him: “Since we started this battle which dates back to the time of the primaries, when I was sworn in and began to serve the good people of Ekiti State, I have not lost any battle.  So, in the end, I'll be vindicated by God Almighty.” Fayose plowed even deeper into the Scriptures: “I want them to know that the God I serve would definitely put them to shame because their gathering is not of God and it would be scattered…I will not look into their faces but unto God, the Author and Finisher of my faith. As God delivered Daniel, He will fight for me and deliver me.”

Utter balderdash, I said. Of course, Fayose lost the battle and lost the war.  He was successfully impeached. What did God Almighty have to do with his case? Did Daniel steal from his people like Fayose had done? Why do thieves further compound their sins by blasphemously invoking the name of God when they are caught? Did not Tafa Balogun also invoke the name of God when he was dragged to the courts by the EFCC? Did not governors Alamieyeseigha and Dariye swear that they were innocent men even in the face of a mountain of evidence to the contrary? Did not James Ibori claim he was a saint? Did not Stella Oduah cry gang up when she was caught? Is not Diezani Madueke currently claiming innocence of the monumental graft under her supervision?  Even Ibrahim Babangida was quick to call on Allah when things appeared to be falling apart and his son had to speak with the EFCC. Was God ever in the calculations of these people when they themselves played god?

Still hanging over the head of Fayose is the death in 2005 of Tunde Omojola, a Germany-based relative of an opposition party (NCP) candidate, who was dragged out of his car and beaten to death by Fayose's security men, including his brother, Isaac Fayose while governor Fayose watched. Omojola had the misfortune of being present during a ward Councillorship by-election fracas in Ifaki-Ekiti. Some witnesses alleged in court that Fayose personally delivered the fatal blow to Omojola’s groin area! Also still hanging over Fayose’s head is the yet-to-be-solved murder, in 2006, of Dr. Ayo Daramola, a very strong political adversary of Fayose who was going to give Fayose a good run for his money within the PDP. And this is the kind of person Ekiti PDP wants to field for gubernatorial elections?   

In his twisted mind, Fayose actually did believe that his travails in 2005 and 2006 were "the beginning of greatness." I thought the saying was always true that "those whom the gods want to destroy, they first make mad."  Otherwise, how could anybody in his right mind think he could ride roughshod over the people of Ekiti State (of all people) for so long and expect to come out unscathed? But apparently, Fayose has been proven right. Somebody…some people…four hundred and sixty-two people of Ekiti land think little of Fayose’s past. They braved the heat and voted for Fayose to run for governor again? They voted for the man who hopped from the PDP to ANPP and then to Labour Party, before hopping back to PDP? Are our people so intellectually destitute or are we just morally bankrupt? Is this hunger or famine?  

In what language could we best describe the one person least expected to mount the rostrum and canvass for votes before the Ekiti PDP gets it? What message are they sending to the police, the ICPC, the EFCC and the judges by voting for a known thief?

Governor Kayode Fayemi has his job well cut out for him during the campaigns.  He should just keep reminding the people of Ekiti of Fayose’s past. And if Fayose comes even close to winning the election, Fayemi should just leave Ekiti land because it would mean that even a goat would have beaten him.
 
By Abiodun Ladepo                            
Los Angeles, California, USA                      

 Oluyole2@yahoo.com

Our Campaign Will Be Scientific, Says Fayemi As He Inaugurates Campaign Office

Less than 24 hours after INEC lifted the ban on political activities in Ekiti State, the State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has inaugurated his campaign office in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital with the emphasis that his re-election campaign for the June 21 governorship election in the state would not accommodate brigands or thugs.


Rather, it is going to be scientific.

"People who know how wars are fought know that wars are first simulated. Scenarios are first built in various dimensions before you unleash it in its practical dimension and that is what has made this possible as a clockwork operation. We are hitting the ground running because we are ready. This is not going to be a campaign for thugs," he said.  

He said he and his team were able to hit the ground running because they were ready.

Going down memory lane, the governor explained that the journey had been arduous, but that by keeping faith his administration was able to triumph.


"God never said there would not be difficulties in the Bible, but in our party, APC, we don't see difficulties. We see solutions," said Fayemi.


He described his party's credentials as very impeccable, saying "we don't do 419 in this party. You know the party of 419. We shall soon get to their record of 419. It is crystal clear. There is no way that darkness will ever triumph over darkness. Ekiti people are people of light. That is what we represent." 


Commissioning the campaign office, Fayemi explained that the building had witnessed cries and struggles along the way, but that it ultimately witnessed more laughs.


Fayemi also explained the significance of the official colours of the campaign.

"You would see the dominance of blue which of course represents love and peace. You see a lot of red; energy, not blood. Energy, drive, commitment, compassion, not violence, not criminality. You also see a lot of white which represents purity. That is the purity of our minds and purpose."

Present at the inauguration of the campaign office and the unveiling of the official logo for the campaign were the Deputy Governor, Professor Dupe Adelabu, wife of the Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, APC Vice Chairman in the Southwest, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, APC Chairman in Ekiti State, Chief Jide Awe, party chieftains, members and supporters, commissioners and other political appointees.

Earlier in the day, Governor Kayode Fayemi had committed his re-election campaign into the hands of God in a thanksgiving service at St. Martins Catholic Church in his hometown of Isan-Ekiti where he insisted that all stakeholders must ensure that the June 21 governorship election in the state is peaceful as no ambition is worth the spilling of anyone's blood.


He explained that besides thanking God for having brought him thus far, he and his family were also in church to offer prayers for peaceful campaign and the peaceful conduct of the election.

"No ambition, including my own, is worth the spilling of blood. I urge all our people to conduct themselves peacefully. This is a contest of ideas. We are running on a record. Ekiti people can see and feel what we have done. Those who feel they have better ideas should present their ideas to the people. It is the duty of our people to decide which direction they want to take in this election. I believe the security forces will work with us. If there is any election that should serve as a model for peaceful elections, it should be this one and I pray it shall be so in Jesus name. 

"In presenting our ideas to the people, we should have nothing to fear. Our people are intelligent. They are witnesses to the progress and development that Ekiti has witnessed since we have come on board. They would decide if they want to return to the era of one day, one trouble or if they'd rather continue to stay on the path of peace, progress and development. I have no doubt what decision our people would make," Fayemi concluded.


In his sermon, the Catholic Bishop of Ekiti State and a delegate to the ongoing national conference, Bishop Felix Ajakaiye, said there was no room for politics of rascality in Ekiti anymore.

Ajakaiye said what obtains in Ekiti now is politics of renewal, adding that politics of renewal promotes good governance.

Ajakaiye said: "In Nigeria, we kill our youth. Two Saturdays ago, we asked them to be writing exams on their laps. Is it going to be like this forever? That is why I say Ekiti State must be a role model. In a sane society, the Minister of Interior should have resigned, but instead they are using fire brigade approach. They are saying the families of those who died are entitled to three slots in the Nigeria Immigration Service." 

He corrected the notion that politics is a dirty game, saying there are only some dirty people in it.

Meanwhile, the people of Isan-Ekiti, the hometown of Governor Kayode Fayemi, under the Home Support Group, have held a solidarity rally in support of the governor.

They also donated a car to aid the campaign activities of the governor.

Addressing the throng of Isan-Ekiti people whose songs rent the air, Governor Kayode Fayemi said he was happy that he had not dragged the name of the town in the mud.

He thanked the people of the community for their love, support and prayers, stressing that the task of repositioning Ekiti State has not ended.

"I know the people of Isan will never let me down. I am their representative. On behalf of the people of Isan-Ekiti, I thank Ekiti people for being true to their name - the Land of Honour. The values that exemplify this land are the values that we will continue to promote. Those are the values we have promoted up to this point and those are the values we will continue to promote. This is not a journey that we embarked on of our volition. It is a God-ordained journey and by God all things are possible. Ekiti shall not go back to the days of political assassination. Ekiti shall go forward. Ekiti will progress. The journey to light will always overcome darkness. Ekiti shall not go back to darkness. Ekiti will forever remain in light," the governor said.

My Re-election Victory is Unstoppable - Fayemi

Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi says his re-election victory is unstoppable because it is God-ordained.

Speaking at the All Progressives Congress (APC) secretariat in Ado-Ekiti shortly after arriving from Abuja where he had obtained the APC nomination form at the national secretariat of the party, the governor said he was not in the race for personal aggrandising, but to consolidate on democracy and the deepening of development in Ekiti State.

"We are not confused. There is no confusion. We are very clear about where we have come from, where we are and where we are headed. When we started this journey, we said it is a collective rescue mission. That is the journey that has brought us this far. We are on the march again and we are unstoppable. We know that the journey has not reached an end because we have not finished the job. That is why we are in this race. It is service to our people," Fayemi said.

He urged all those who are interested in the governorship contest to throw their hat into the ring, adding that they should however focus on issues as the election is going to be solely an Ekiti election.

"It is the governorship election of Ekiti State. Those who want to run for Senate, House of Representatives, House of Assembly in Ekiti State, even presidency, should wait. They should let us finish this particular journey. When we finish this journey, you can then bring out your posters for whatever post you want to contest for," the governor counselled.

Governor Fayemi thanked all those who have been with him on the journey, stressing that the task of repositioning Ekiti for the benefit of the masses has not ended.

He urged them not to relent as the journey to second term begins.

On the outpouring of love shown to him by party members and the people of Ekiti State as his convoy journeyed from Akure Airport to Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, the governor said he was deeply humbled.

He said though campaign has not officially kicked off and that he would never do anything to violate the Electoral Act, it would, however, be difficult to censor people's love, adding that it was strictly a party affair, devoid of canvassing for votes.

On his part, the APC Chairman in Ekiti State, Chief Jide Awe, said the governor has demonstrated high commitment to the development of Ekiti state and that the best the party could do is to support his re-election.

"If you know where we were coming from and what we had gone through, we would appreciate the great thing that God has done for us. We are going to another critical junction and with what we have seen at all levels, we are going to triumph on June 21," Awe said.

EKITI 2014: FAYEMI PICKS NOMINATION FORM

...Promises to consolidate on transformational agenda

Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi on Wednesday obtained the All Progressives Congress' (APC) expression of interest and Nomination form to seek re-election as governor of the State.

The governor who presented a Zenith Bank cheque of N5.5 million to obtain the form at the national headquarters of the party in Abuja, stated that he is seeking re-election in order to consolidate the "good works" which his administration  started in 2010.

The Governor who was accompanied by his Deputy, Prof. Modupe Adelabu, lawmakers representing the State at the National Assembly, the Director-General of his campaign organization, Hon. Bimbo Daramola, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Dr Adewale Omirin and a crowd of supporters arrived the APC National Secretariat in Abuja at about 11am on Wednesday. He was received by the National Secretary of the party, Alhaji Tijani Tumsah and the National Organising Secretary, Osita Izulaso.

Fayemi also called on Nigerians to reject the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the coming general elections, stressing that the mishandling of the recent Immigration recruitment exercise in which scores of applicants lost their lives is enough reason to send the ruling party at the centre packing.

The Governor called for a minute silence in memory of the dead applicants, saying that the PDP-led Federal Government has failed Nigerians especially the younger generation.

Fayemi said: "My excitement today is tempered by the horrific news that we have received in the last few days, of the death of scores of young people who sought for employment but were given death by the federal government.

"The very in humane treatment meted to our young people nationwide in the course of the recently conducted recruitment exercise of the Nigerian Immigration Service is a sad commentary to the degree of incompetence that pervades our federal government under the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP). I strongly condemn this ugly incident which is a shame to us as a country", he said.

While urging Ekiti people to be very vigilant in the "coming days", the Governor charged them not to be swayed by the deception of some people who seek power in the State so as to impede the developmental gains which his administration has achieved in the last 3 years.

He assured that his party will not relent in delivering the goods to the people even as he expressed confidence that the APC will emerge winner of the forthcoming gubernatorial election.

Fayemi noted that the party has demonstrated good governance and commitment to the people in all the state where it is in power across the country.

In his remarks, the interim National secretary of the party, Alhaji Tijani Tumsah said it was quite evident  that Ekiti people have been served conscientiously by Fayemi and his team in the last three and a half years, hence their enthusiasm about his re-election bid.

The party scribe added that the national body of the party has done its "reviews, investigation and evaluation" and has seen Governor Fayemi as a true representative of APC ideology in Nigeria.

He also explained that the return of Fayemi will prove to the generality of Nigerians that the APC has been accepted as the change agent party in Nigeria.

Also speaking, the National Organizing secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso said the purchase of the nomination form is in line with the constitution of the APC and the Electoral Act and will be followed by a primary election for gubernatorial aspirants on 12th April.

Izunaso who handed Fayemi the nomination form described the APC as the fastest growing political party in the black world with 16 governors and many lawmakers in less than one year of its emergence.

A large group of women and youths danced and song as the Governor was handed the nomination form at the modest ceremony which held at the conference hall of the APC national secretariat.

Speaking to journalists after the exercise, Governor Fayemi said he would run an issue-based campaign devoid of violence, adding that the business of government would not suffer during the period of electioneering.

PHOTOSPEAK: Fayemi at APC NEC Meeting in Abuja

L-R: National Leader, All Progressives Party (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Mr. Rotimi Amaechi; Former Head  of State, Gen. Mohammodu Buhari; Ekiti State Governor,  Dr. Kayode Fayemi; and Interim Chairman, APC, Chief Bisi Akande, during the National Executive Council Meeting of the Party, Abuja... On Tuesday.

 Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi (L); with Aviation Minister, Dr. Samuel Ortom, during a meeting on Aviation activities in Ekiti, in Abuja... on Tuesday.

L-R: Ogun State Governor, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun; Dr. Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); and Mr. Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), during the National Executive Council Meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Abuja... On Tuesday.

Photospeaks: Governor Fayemi At A Meeting With Aviation Minister

L-R: Aviation Minister, Dr. Samuel Ortom; Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Director, Department of Safety & Technical Policy, Ministry of Aviation, Capt. Talba Alkali (Retd); and Commissioner for Trade and Commerce, Ekiti State, Mr. Debo Ajayi, shortly after a meeting on Aviation activities in Ekiti, in Abuja... on Tuesday.

Ekiti 2014: Between players and jesters

• Tuesday, 18 March 2014 00:00
• Written by John Ajayi

AS the clock ticks for the battle royale in the June 21, 2014, gubernatorial election in Ekiti State, one renowned historical personae that readily comes to mind is William Penn Adair Rogers. To the uninitiated, this may sound a bit Afghanistanism. For members of the intellectual community, Rogers is no stranger to history as history is no stranger to him.

  History has it on good authority that Rogers, in his hey days, was renowned for his earthly anecdotes and folksy style that allowed him to poke fun at gangsters, prohibition, politicians, government programmes, and a host of other controversial topics, in a way that was readily appreciated by a national audience of his era with no one offended.

  One of Rogers’ aphorisms, couched in humorous terms, is most relevant and apt in describing the politics of tom-foolery by some so-called political gladiators in Ekiti State.   

  According to Rogers, “the way to judge a good comedy is by how long it will last and have people talk about it. Now, congress has turned out some that have lived for years and people are still laughing about them.” Don’t ask me how this relates to the present jostle for the top seat in Ekiti State come June 21, 2014, but politics is surely turning some characters into laughing stock.

  However, looking at the emerging political scenario in the state hitherto known as the “Fountain of Knowledge”, now rechristened as “Ile Iyi, Ile, Eye,” one can say without any equivocation that there are indeed a good number of jesters masquerading as political actors and gladiators.   Nothing ever made this viewpoint more poignant than the recent revelation that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a major opposition political party to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has cleared no fewer than 13 gubernatorial aspirants and disqualified three. Without any prejudice to the judgment of the PDP screening committee and the proposed primary election, the figure is anything but normal against the earlier cacophony of voices on consensus candidacy.

  The aspirants cleared for the party’s forthcoming primary election by the Senator Victor Ndoma Egba’s committee are: former governor, Ayodele Fayose; immediate past Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade; Gbenga Aluko, Adedayo Adeyeye and 9 others. While the aspirants are believed to have scaled the screening hurdle, what was before now uppermost in the minds of majority of them was a consensus candidate.   

  However, the push for primary election is believed to have originated from the minority group of the gubernatorial hopefuls.

  Although it is not in doubt that PDP is the next biggest issue in the Nigerian body politic, yet its choice of gubernatorial hopefuls as indicated by the list of 13 aspirants leaves much to be desired. A very critical and objective review of the dramatis personae in the PDP political macabre dance will reveal that the list is populated largely by yesterday men. Just name one person among them, you would be greatly stunned to discover the worms buried in the Pandora box. Is it the former governor Fayose, the first-ever to be impeached governor of Ekiti State, who still has some Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s offences hanging on him like a sword of Damocles? Or can it be Chief Olubolade, who even his own party men could not see the democratic dividend his ministration at the Police Affairs brought to Ekiti land? Are we talking about the once beaten twice shy personae, Mr. Dayo Adeyeye, a former chieftain of Afenifere, now the butt of scornful gists, jests and jabs of some PDP political adherents? The list, though uncomfortably long, does not seem to consist of men who can turn the apple cart against the present All Progressives Congress (APC) political hegemony headed and personified by Dr. John Kayode Fayemi. In the PDP list also are the meek and political lightweights like former deputy governor under Fayose, Mr. Bisi Omoyeni; erstwhile deputy governor, Chief Abiodun Aluko; former deputy governor, Mrs. Abiodun Olujimi; erstwhile envoy, Ambassador Dare Bejide; former Speaker, Mr. Femi Bamisile; Mr. Bimbo Owolabi, Senator Gbenga Aluko and Oluropo Ogunbolude, Omolara Adubiaro and Ajayi Eldad Ayodeji.

  In all of these, we can see with the benefit of historical hindsight, men and women of yesterday who appear poised and set against themselves and the future. These characters are presently involved in kamikaze political melodrama in their quest to be noted. It needs be stated though that there are indeed a few of them who are yet to be discovered, as they have neither been tested let alone being trusted. How sincere and genuine these few individuals may be in their quest to occupy the exalted position in Ekiti State remains conjectural. For them, it can be argued on mere assumption that they may be serious contenders as there are no known social or political garbages around or about them.

  As the contest for the Ekiti State gubernatorial seat beckons, the case of the lone Labour Party candidate, Mr. Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (a.k.a. MOB), becomes pathetic.   Indeed, MOB’s political peregrination has brought out more poignantly the political wisdom in William Pen Addair Rogers on the futility of a man in servitude to his own wisdom. The House of Representatives member in the Green Chamber, himself a political activist ipso-facto, has become a “rebel” without a cause or so it seems. 

(To be continued tommorrow)

• Ajayi is a Lagos-based journalist and public commentator

Source: The Guardian

I NOW EAT YCAD FISH ONLY! GOD BLESS JKF!

For sometime now, I had been buying dried fish from one of the YCAD (Youth in Commercial Agriculture Development, an initiative of the Fayemi administration) participants without knowing. My wife drew my attention to the label on the packaged fish; it was then that I knew it was a product of a YCAD participant. 

I immediately called the guy and asked to see how he packages the fish. He agreed and took me to his house which he still uses as a factory yesterday night. He showed me the machine which he uses to dry the fish. The machine, he told me, was provided by the Ekiti State Ministry of Agriculture. I took snapshots with my iPad.

According to the YCAD participant whose name is Kayode Obelewaji, he made N200, 000 during the Yuletide from selling the fish. 

Ekiti kete, you needed to taste the fish! Hmm! Yummy!

If you needed to confirm, I will take you to see Kayode Obelewaji's factory? 

If you also want to patronize Kayode Obelewaji, call him on 08065336351.

But above all, the Fayemi administration should be commended for making farming profitable for youth and for ensuring that agriculture not only happens on paper, but in real life as it should be.

The same success has been recorded by the YCAD Poultry, the Rice Expansion Programme and with the cassava cultivation.

God bless JKF!

God bless Ekiti State!

JKF Re-elect!!!

Photospeak: Governor Fayemi at Ife Day 2014

L-R:  Wife of Ooni of Ile -Ife, Olori Odunla Sijuwade; The Ooni of Ile-Ife, HIM. Oba Okunade Sijuwade and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, during the Ife Day 2014 Celebration in Ile-Ife, Osun State on Saturday.

L-R:  Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi Addressing Ile-Ife Sons and Daughters, during the Ife Day 2014 Celebration while the Wife of Ooni of Ile -Ife, Olori Odunla Sijuwade and Ooni of Ile-Ife, HIM. Oba Okunade Sijuwade watches in Ile-Ife, Osun State on Saturday.

L-R:  Wife of Ooni of Ile -Ife, Olori Odunla Sijuwade; The Ooni of Ile-Ife, HIM. Oba Okunade Sijuwade and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, during the Ife Day 2014 Celebration in Ile-Ife, Osun State on Saturday.

L-R:  Osun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship Aspirant, Senator, Iyiola Omisore; The Ooni of Ile-Ife, HIM. Oba Okunade Sijuwade and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, during the Ife Day 2014 Celebration in Ile-Ife, Osun State on Saturday.

L-R:  Wife of Ooni of Ile -Ife, Olori Odunla Sijuwade; The Ooni of Ile-Ife, HIM. Oba Okunade Sijuwade and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, during the Ife Day 2014 Celebration in Ile-Ife, Osun State on Saturday.

L-R:  Wife of Ooni of Ile -Ife, Olori Odunla Sijuwade; The Ooni of Ile-Ife, HIM. Oba Okunade Sijuwade and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, during the Ife Day 2014 Celebration in Ile-Ife, Osun State on Saturday.

L-R:  Wife of Ooni of Ile -Ife, Olori Odunla Sijuwade; The Ooni of Ile-Ife, HIM. Oba Okunade Sijuwade and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, during the Ife Day 2014 Celebration in Ile-Ife, Osun State on Saturday.