THE people of Ado-Ekiti, the capital city of Ekiti State, have declared that the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and incumbent Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, is their sole candidate in the June 21 governorship election in the state. The people made the declaration during the Governor’s visit to the palace of Ewi, Oba Rufus Adejugbe on Friday, in company with his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, the deputy Governor, Prof Modupe Adelabu and the Senator representing Ekiti Central, Babafemi Ojudu. Describing his performance as unrivalled in the history of the town and the state, the people said if it was not for the constitution, they would have supported him for more than two terms in office, as he has brought dexterity, honesty and credibility to governance. Speaking on behalf of the people during the Governor’s visit to the palace, the Odogun of Ado-Ekiti, Chief Oba Aladetoyinbo, who is traditionally the second-in-command to the monarch of the town, praised the governor for fulfilling his campaign promises to Ado people. “The people of Ado-Ekiti have seen your good works. We cannot quantify them because they are unrivalled. You made it possible for Ado-Ekiti to profit from this government. In like manner, you will profit from Ado people’s votes.” He commended the governor for the roads constructed in the town, the street lights, the Oba Adejugbe General Hospital which is almost completed, amongst other projects. “Your Excellency, you are the only one that we support. You can be sure, sir, Ado-Ekiti will not betray you. Your commitment to the development of not just Ado-Ekiti, but the whole of Ekiti will be rewarded. The reason the prayers offered by Ado community are speedily answered is our honesty. We don’t double-deal. Your Excellency can be sure of our total and unmitigated support.” Chief Aladetoyinbo said in spite of the governor’s excellent performance in the town, development is never static, hence the continuous clamour by the people for more dividends of good governance which the Fayemi administration has been doling out in the last three and a half years.
Tag: Fayemi
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Abuja can’t impose governor on Ekiti, says Fayemi
Ekiti State Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has said the Presidency cannot impose a governor on the state.
Fayemi spoke at Ipoti-Ekiti during the second leg of his campaign tour of communities in Ijero Local Government Area.
He urged voters to be resolute on election day and not be intimidated by external forces and their local collaborators.
He said the people would determine their next governor through their votes in the June 21 gubernatorial poll.
He said: “On the day of election, go to your respective polling booths and cast your votes for the progressive party. Be vigilant, protect your votes. Nobody can intimidate you.
“Nobody can impose governor on Ekiti people. It is not Abuja that will impose governor on Ekiti people.
“Ekitis are known for resisting external control and our forbears chased away the Ajeles in the days of old. Nobody can intimidate you and whoever that tries it will have himself to blame.”
The governor added that the electorate were too discerning to be fooled by the falsehood being peddled by the opposition to smear him.
Describing Ipoti-Ayetoro Road, which was built by his administration as the best in the state, Fayemi said the contractor gave him a guarantee of 10 years.
Scores of Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) members, who were led by Mr. Michael Esan, defected to the APC at the rally.
Esan said they were attracted by Fayemi’s good works, such as road construction, payment of monthly stipends to old people, renovation of public schools and appointment of indigenes to key positions.
He added: “The reason we are defecting to this progressive party is that for over 40 years, Ipoti-Ayetoro Road was in a state of disrepair but it was the APC government that reconstructed and tarred the road, including the Ilukuno-Oke Oro Road.
“We are also coming into APC because this government has impacted positively on the lives of our people. The social security stipends have transformed the lives of our aged people.
“The governor also appointed our son as permanent secretary, our schools have received massive renovation from this government. For these reasons, myself and my supporters are moving into APC and we will work vigorously for his victory at the election.”
Addressing the people of Odo Owa, Fayemi said his administration built the Odo Owa-Oke-Ila Road to serve as one of the shortest routes to Osun State.
He noted that the Oba’s palace is almost completed and would soon be commissioned, urging voters in the community to be vigilant on election day and protect their votes.
Speaking at Erinjiyan, Fayemi urged the people to go out enmasse and vote APC and not to be afraid of threats of violence by opposition politicians.
In Ijurin, Fayemi said his administration had completed the Ijero-Ayetoro-Ido Road for social and economic benefits of the people while focus would now shift to new roads.
He said a vote for APC is a vote for continuity of programmes like social security scheme for aged people, free education, infrastructural development, job creation and economic empowerment for the people.
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No one can steal my mandate, says Fayemi
Ekiti State Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the June 21 election Dr Kayode Fayemi has said his mandate cannot be stolen.
The governor launched a long legal battle to retrieve his mandate in the last election.
He spoke during his campaign rally in Epe, Moba Local Government Area.
The governor said his administration had put in place a conducive environment for investors.
“We have constructed roads. We have put in place social amenities to make Ekiti conducive for investors. If we did not do all that we have done, it would have been difficult for any investor to come in.
“We have also restored peace to Ekiti. It would have been difficult for any investor to do business in an atmosphere of violence. You know it used to be one day, one trouble in Ekiti State, but Ekiti now enjoys peace,” the governor said.
Fayemi noted that his administration created jobs through agencies, such as the State Traffic Management Agency (EKSTMA), Peace Corps and Volunteer Corps, adding that there are still many unemployed youths for whom jobs must be provided.
“Government cannot provide jobs for everyone, but we will partner investors to establish industries to stem the tide of unemployment and make poverty a thing of the past in Ekiti State. This will be the focus during my second term in office.”
Fayemi also told the people not to be scared of the antics of vote-riggers, adding that the people’s votes would be adequately protected.
“Don’t let anyone scare you. We will protect our votes. No one can steal my mandate,” he said.
The governor urged the people to be wary of electoral robbers who still lurk around.
The governor said most of the projects executed by his government in the town had never been done before.
He listed such projects to include road construction, renovation of the palace, construction of townhall, stipend for elderly citizens, amongst others.
He promised that the ongoing road project in the town would soon be extended to Osan/Ora boundary.
A former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader in the town, Olabisi Oluwawole, led other PDP youths to defect to the APC.
Teachers, students and beneficiaries of the social security came out to show their support for the governor.
A representative of the teachers, Mr. Abiodun Adelye, praised the Fayemi administration for giving teachers rural allowance, core subjects allowance, laptops and for ensuring their prompt promotion.
The president of the Osun Students’ Union, Gboyega Bode, said the students were grateful for the prompt release of their bursary allowance, renovation of schools and the transformation of Ekiti State University into a world class university.
Also yesterday, Fayemi denied establishing a university in Ghana. Speaking at the Holy Mass commemorating the renewal of priesthood in the Catholic church at St. Patricks Catholic Cathedral, Ado-Ekiti, Fayemi also described as untrue the plans of his government to increase tuition at the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti.
Fayemi urged the people to investigate claims of the opposition about his administration, assuring he would always offer the truth on any matter on their request.
Said he: “I don’t have a university anywhere in the world and I don’t even intend to have one. My plan is to pick up lecturing job at the EKSU come next session.”
“My name is important to me. I am a catholic and as someone who takes the holy communion, I won’t do anything that will desecrate the Catholic church.”
The governor affirmed that non completion of some processes by some pensioners was responsible for delay in pensioners’gratuity.
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Fayemi deserves another term, says wife
Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi’s wife, Bisi, has given reason why her husband, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, deserves a second term.
She spoke while distributing food stuff to farmsteads in the state. She said the governor deserved another four-year tenure to enable him extend the dividend of democracy to the nooks and crannies of the state.
At every stop, the governor’s wife urged women to form themselves into cooperative societies to benefit from the Ekiti Development Foundation’s soft loans.
Mrs Fayemi has distributed kerosene, garri and palm oil processing machines to farmsteads in the 16 local governments as a continuation of her empowerment schemes, which has seen her touring the state since her husband, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, became the governor of the state.
She has visited 12 locations in Ekiti Southwest, Ijero and Oye local governments.
Among items distributed were cooking stoves, treated mosquito nets and other materials.
The visit presented a veritable platform for the governor’s wife to rally support for her husband’s second term ambition in the June 21 governorship election.
The women, who are predominantly farmers, trooped out in their hundreds to give the First Lady rousing welcome, singing and holding brooms, the symbol of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Each hamlet leaders seized the opportunity of the governor’s wife’s visit to present catalogue of demands, which included request for grading of roads, provision of potable water and electricity.
The Baale of Bolorunduro, Alhaji Ganiyu Oyebode, thanked the government for empowering the women at the grassroots and assured the governor’s wife of his people’s support for the governor in the coming poll.
The governor’s wife urged the villagers to rest assured of her husband’s commitment to taking the state to greater heights if given another opportunity.
She said: “Governor Fayemi has delivered on all his promises to the people of the state. My visit is to demonstrate to you that the government is also concerned about the development of rural areas.”
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Fayemi, Dangote, Obi, others get Champion award
Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi will, on Friday, receive the Champion Newspapers’ Governor of the Year (2013) award in Lagos.
Fayemi, who was Leadership Newspaper’s Governor of the Year in 2012, will get the Champion’s award in recognition of his developmental strides in Ekiti State, which the organisers said have impacted positively on the people of the state.
The President of Aliko Dangote Group of Industries, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, will get Champion’s Man of the Year award.
The ceremony will hold at the Inter-continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi will be honoured as Most Outstanding Igbo Personality of the Decade.
The management of the Champion said the newspaper had been monitoring developments in Ekiti State and was impressed by the quality of governance under the Fayemi administration, especially the administration’s huge investments in social security, Health, Education, infrastructure and tourism development and their impact on the people.
“On all scores, our findings, largely corroborated by that of independent assessors, confirm that Ekiti State, under Dr Kayode Fayemi, has become a model in terms of value creation.
“We note, with delight, the uncommon zeal and pragmatism with which His Excellency has pursued the business of transforming Ekiti into a showpiece. Today, it is generally acknowledged that the culture of dynamism now governs Ekiti State in terms of infrastructure development, investment drive and corporate governance.
“This is a credit to the vision, tenacity, commitment, dedication, accountability and transparency of Dr Kayode Fayemi’s administration,” the newspaper management said.
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Fayemi to women: don’t treat cancer with levity
The Ekiti State government has distributed thousands of self-examination kits to women to curb breast cancer.
This was part of activities marking the first memorial anniversary of former Deputy Governor Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka, who died of breast cancer on April 6, last year.
The kits were distributed at the headquarters of the three senatorial districts in the state – Ido-Ekiti (Ekiti North); Ikere-Ekiti (Ekiti South); and Ado-Ekiti (Ekiti Central) – on Monday and Tuesday.
The wife of the governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, mobilised women for the two-day rally, which was attended by Governor Kayode Fayemi; his deputy, Prof. Modupe Adelabu; the widower, Mr. Lanre Olayinka; their daughter, Yeside; relatives of the deceased and top government officials.
At each stop, the Project Manager of the Funmi Olayinka Diagnostic and Wellness Centre, Dr. Bola Solanke, took the gathering through practical steps in breast self-examination using the kit.
Tuesday’s event featured screening for cancer, HIV/AIDS, malaria, blood sugar level, blood pressure and body weight, among others.
Health officials from the Chike Okoli Foundation; Emzor Pharmaceuticals; Ekiti State AIDS Control Agency (ESACA) and the Ekiti Development Foundation (EDF) conducted the health screening and distributed free drugs in Ado-Ekiti.
The programme ended with a cancer awareness walk from the Funmi Olayinka Diagnostic and Wellness Centre to the Fajuyi Memorial Park.
Addressing participants before the walk, Fayemi urged women to go for screening regularly for cancer and gender-specific ailments.
He said: “One of the pledges we made after her demise was never to lose women to any form of cancer, particularly cervical and breast cancer. I urge women to voluntarily use the facility at the diagnostic centre and adhere to the advice they receive from the specialists there.
“Cancer is still a major scourge in our country and we want to do everything within our ability to stop it. One of the basic ways to stop it is through regular checkups, which can detect cancer early.”
Fayemi told women not to rely on traditional or spiritual means to cure cancer, but to seek help in standard health facilities.
He said: “I urge our women to see this beyond our approach to tradition and spirituality. It is okay to be spiritual. It is okay to believe in God, but there are several places in the Bible where the word physician comes up.
“Physician is not a term of abuse in the Bible; it is a term of endearment and respect. I urge us to, in addition to praying, work to save ourselves. The Bible and the Quran urge us to always work and pray.”
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Expect more jobs, tells Fayemi electorate
Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has said the creation of more jobs will top his agenda, if re-elected on June 21.
He spoke yesterday at Ipere, Ijaro, Eda-Oniyo, Iludun, Obada, Iye, Ijesamodu and Ewu in Ilejemeje Local Government Area during his re-election campaign.
Fayemi said: “Although my administration has employed over 30,000 people in three-and-a-half years, more people need to be gainfully employed. This is why job creation and direct empowerment/employment would be key to every move we make when I return as governor.”
He urged the people to use their votes to ensure the continuity of good governance in the state.
At the rallies were other ethnic communities, including Tivs and Ebiras resident in the towns.
They pledged their support for Fayemi, describing his as “sincere and performing”.
At Iludun, Fayemi said: “The first thing we hope to do is to create more jobs for our youths because job creation is importance to us. I have discussed with many investors who are willing to establish businesses in Ekiti and we have assured them of many incentives.
“We will employ more civil servants, teachers and others, who will contribute positively to our economy. We are going to deploy more resources to job creation and economic empowerment, if I am re-elected.
“I urge you to vote for a party that cares for you. Stay with this administration, which has positively touched your lives and utilised the available resources to take care of you.
“Be wary of the looting party, whose stock in trade is to engage in electoral robbery. Traditional rulers, elders, women, men, youths and children have spoken with one voice that Ekiti will not go backward again. “We are moving forward on the path of development already being witnessed. We are not going back to the era of violence, brigandage and rascality where chickens do not excrete; where Obas are humiliated and kept in the booths of cars.
“I heard that some people want to buy your voter cards; please tell them that you are not for sale. Keep your voter cards and, on June 21, something big will happen because your votes will speak for our party.”
The governor’s campaign train will be in Ise/Orun Local Government Area today.
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Fayemi, Fayose, Bamidele and Ekiti poll
After what must rank as the most extraordinary feat of realpolitik ever, former Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, has been made the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) standard-bearer in the June 2014 governorship election in the state. The choice before the party big wigs in Abuja was to either get Mr Fayose elected or appointed as candidate. In the circumstance, neither election nor appointment was applicable or appropriate. He had to be made a candidate by the most pernicious sleight of hand the party could muster. With his coronation on March 22, a crowning that is unlikely to be overturned notwithstanding the grumblings from within the state PDP and from among those who contested the ticket with him, Mr Fayose will in June take on Governor Kayode Fayemi for the now ennobled governorship seat of Ekiti State.
Mr Fayose, it will be recalled, ran a populist campaign from 2001 to 2003 to win the governorship seat. But he was impeached in 2006, a year before his first term in office came to an end. The feisty 53-year-old is a study in irony. He has been out of power for about seven years now, and he tends so easily to overreach himself, not to say exaggerate his puny gifts. In his rather violent but abridged first term, he enunciated and implemented horrendously amateurish policies. Not only did he do very poorly in his three years in office, he also reacted very badly to challenges to his power in the typically intolerant fashion of African rulers.
Though Mr Fayose is still being tried for alleged corrupt practices, it is striking that the same PDP – not a different PDP – has found him a fit and proper person to fly their flag in the coming poll. The manner of his emergence itself may have been dubious, and his opponents in the party either weak and ineffective or embarrassingly ingratiating and unprincipled, however, party bigwigs at the state and national levels have curiously and even joyfully turned a blind eye to the strong-arm tactics he employed in muscling his co-contestants into submission. This has prompted many commentators to judge the real objectives of the party in the Ekiti election to be both deceptively intrusive and brutally detached. It must take a huge dose of cavalier politics, they argue, to plot such intrusive machination, and unprincipled indifference to ignore the salient implications of being represented by a man apparently so shorn of ideas and honour as Mr Fayose.
The only explanations for this strange choice of candidate seem to be located in the unearthly inability of the PDP federal government to be identified with noble ideas and standards. First, it is suggested that what the PDP hopes to achieve is not really to win the governorship, but to have a fighting chance of winning sizeable votes for the presidential election in 2015. If this was the aim, the party would still need a man with some dignity and noble carriage, not to say common sense or native wisdom to prise a healthy amount of votes from the ruling party in the state. It is also suggested that having dismissed Mr Fayose’s co-contestants as incapable of discomfiting the more cerebral Dr Fayemi, the Jonathan presidency was prepared to embrace a roughneck. Since Dr Fayemi is expected to conventionally assail his opponents with much learning and self-assurance, the PDP probably guessed that only a southpaw, a brute and a scoundrel could unhorse him.
The choice of Mr Fayose is however more importantly a reflection of the nature and character of the PDP and the Jonathan presidency. The two entities reinforce each other’s callous disregard for sane and elevated politics. They are obviously not thinking in terms of the great heights the country should aspire to, or of the fine ideas it should project. The image of Mr Fayose is settled. No one disputes his mediocrity or his predilections for strong-arm tactics, or even, as evidenced by his last days in office, of his lack of coordination and composure and of his inebriated and insensate gibberish under pressure. What is in dispute, in effect, are what strange motives gingered the Jonathan presidency into abandoning all pretence to principles, principles the president says are anchored on his frantic Pentecostal theology.
There is a general consensus that Mr Fayose indecently and brutishly secured the candidacy of the PDP for the Ekiti poll. There is also hardly a whisper against the open and indisputable fact that he is the wrongest candidate to represent the PDP in the election. If the state and national PDP expect him to win, they have not disclosed on what ideas, past achievements or even penitence they base their expectations. Mr Fayose has not propounded any idea, nor can he, for he is incapable of the robustness and sophistication that Ekiti has managed to acquire in the past few years. As for achievements, there is none for him to showcase, and he cannot dredge up any even by the uncanniest abracadabra. As far as remorse goes, he has sworn to some sort of personal conversion without indicating exactly in what areas of his indistinguishable worldview he practices newness of life, and has also sworn to some sort of maturity without demonstrating any practical evidence of the wisdom that sometimes comes with age.
If normality prevails, Ekiti is unlikely to dignify Mr Fayose with even 10 percent of the votes. (See box). They were grossly mistaken about him in 2003; they won’t like to be caught with pants down again or, after having achieved some sanity and enviable heights in decorous politics, succumb to the lure and fantasies of the juvenile politics propagated by Mr Fayose. However, his entrance into the race and the helping hand the federal forces are expected to give him, are likely to make the June poll a two-horse race between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the PDP. For all his faults, Mr Fayose is a colourful politician, exuberant, gregarious but simple-minded. These attributes are unlikely to be vitiated by his mediocre ideas and lack of philosophical depth. And so, he will draw attention with his egregious remarks, whip whatever crowd he is able to rent into some animated frenzy, and hope, like his PDP counterparts in Osun State, that whenever he foments trouble, Abuja will back him up.
The logic of Nigerian politics favours the ruling party in any state except where its performance is woeful. The APC government in Ekiti has brought a lot of practical and implementable novelties to the state. On account of its programmes and projects, the party is certain to receive a good hearing. And having been governed for about four years by probably the most cerebral governor in the country, and notwithstanding the poor finances of the state, Ekiti is not expected to want to fix a problem that does not exist. So, where does this leave the Labour Party whose ambitious candidate is the former ACN/APC man, Opeyemi Bamidele? My guess is that he will be strangulated in the middle. The APC and PDP will hug all the limelight, and the LP candidate will be left in the shadow of the two, shouting himself hoarse and receiving little hearing and sunlight. It is possible Mr Bamidele indeed has a great programme for Ekiti and a passion to do right by the state, but he has the misfortune of facing in one election both a performing APC governor and a federally-backed and boisterously loud PDP candidate. His timing is appalling, and his haste exposes to his many admirers a great flaw in his character – an unwholesome and devastating lack of a sense of proportion.
Dr Fayemi is of course not impeccable. He incredulously began his re-election campaign even before he became the candidate of his party, thereby indicating unnecessary overconfidence. His opponents may have no democratic credentials whatsoever, but he himself will need to polish his democratic credentials, for his distinguishing qualities, nobility and definitive and futuristic leadership claims rest on those credentials. In a country rife with false democrats and open and closet tyrants, Dr Fayemi’s blots are unlikely to diminish his campaign, let alone threaten his anticipated victory. But he must be acutely aware of the need to project his democratic credentials and beliefs with deep, effortless and philosophical conviction. His admirers must not sense that these values are merely expedient rather than intrinsic.
If peaceful elections can be guaranteed – a tall order given the presence of Mr Fayose – the June poll may even end up an anticlimax. Mr Fayose’s scaremongering and PDP’s chicanery can only be effective in a close race. With the passage of years, Ekiti voters have become more aware of their environment than during the Fayose or former Governor Segun Oni years. They will forcefully try to sustain the heights they have attained nationally, for the alternative will be too grim for them to contemplate.
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Why Fayemi deserves second term
One of the commonly heard refrains in Ekiti State, especially the capital, Ado-Ekiti, now that the gubernatorial race is hard by, is: “Fayemi will coast home – like the famous sprinter, Jamaica-born Usain Bolt – to bag yet another gold medal, in recognition of his brilliant performance in the administration of the state.” At Adekunle Fajuyi Square, in Ado- Ekiti, not so long ago, a group of professionals, university teachers, employers of labour, students, skippers of non-governmental organisatons, pensioners, representatives of road transport workers union, amongst others, said over a period of four days, that Fayemi was the one everyone in the gubernatorial race would have to beat. Said a second-year university student, Yemisi Oladoyin-Olajide: “Fayemi looks certain to trounce every one of his challengers in the governorship race. He deserves my vote.”
Indeed, as most of the interview subjects said, Fayemi’s name is literally written in almost all the towns and villages of Ekiti State, which is, interestingly, one of the most homogeneous states in the Nigerian federation. “Fayemi”, said a lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Ado-Ekiti, who craved anonymity “is synonymous with the development and attendant transformation of Ekiti State: Fayemi means good roads; Fayemi is another name for peace, security and orderliness; by Fayemi, most of the people of Ekiti State will tell you, reference is made to rural development, which comes with the empowerment of farmers, swift response to the needs of the thousands of pensioners in the state; the name Fayemi reminds me and a majority of the people of Ekiti State of food security, a promising improvement in electricity supply, prompt payment of workers’ salary, within the limits of available resources in the state government’s till; Fayemi, put tersely, symbolises transparency, good governance, aggressive, but constructive, drive for internally-generated revenue, aimed at fattening the revenue base of the state.” The lecturer from Oye community, who said he had a picture of Fayemi proudly nailed at a visible point in his office, added that “far from being patronising, Fayemi has, so far, placed Ekiti State on a very high pedestal. His record of people-oriented development and urban renewal, such that poverty is fast receding from the affairs of the state; tax-payers are happy with him; so are pensioners (my aged dad one); add school children and women, who are pleased that Ekiti State, under the Fayemi administration, is a region of peace; a veritable tourists’ mecca, as a result.”
A warrior – because he’s well conversant with the laws and principles of conflict; an unblinking apostle of Awoism – because he has followed the late sage’s political examples and applied his style of leadership to his administration in Ekiti State; and as one of the numerous activists who fought – at great risks – for an end to stratocracy, in the interest of democracy, Fayemi has, thus, made it almost a fait accompli that he is well-deserving of a second term in office, since he sits high in all the people’s hearts – especially tax-payers and voters.
Not surprising though, as one psephologist and Programme Director at Centre for Good Governance and Poverty Alleviation, Ado-Ekiti, Mr. Adekunle Ade-Marthenes, 54, said, “the fact that Fayemi is synonymous with administrative brilliance, which makes him the best governor, in nearly two decades’ history of the state, makes one think that he actually did his homework, thoroughly, before offering to serve. One suspects that Fayemi knew well that public administration needs the guts of a warrior, especially in a state like Ekiti, which was why, as someone who has studied conflicts at top educational level, he felt competent to govern the state. Besides, it takes the war strategy of a Fayemi, who had to fight back, in the face of hairless injustice after the 2007 elections, to launch a debilitating, massive counter-attack – with a touch of Ekiti parapo – against his enemy to claim victory at the law court.
Ade-Marthenes, who wears a shiny, black toothbrush moustache, argues that in that historical victory, Fayemi – and impliedly the APC – passes well for a rejection of electoral fraud. He argues, further, that because of the Fayemi administration’s serpentine list of people-oriented feats, it would be an interesting academic exercise to probe into why all the governors of Ekiti state, save only Fayemi, were pretty far from being responsive to the aspirations and needs of the people of the state. Said Ade-Martenes: “All past governors ought to be compelled to give an account of their stewardship.” Well . . .
But what is paramount to all stakeholders in Ekiti politics, for now, is the 2014 gubernatorial race. And if a majority of them agree that , indeed, there’s little vacancy at the State House, in Ado-Ekiti, it may well be because Fayemi, the incumbent, has, in keeping with Abraham Lincoln’s “with malice to none, but charity to all”, inadvertently, rented every available space with people-oriented projects – in justification of the tax-payers’ money. Such projects could be found in areas where the leaders are vociferously censorious of the APC. Currently, there is a spirit of latter-day Ekiti parapo, as drums are being beaten, enthusiastically, is support of Fayemi’s campaign for a second-term in office.
•Uzuakpundu is a Lagos-based journalist.
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Ours is not a govt of abandoned projects, says Fayemi
Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has hinged the success of his administration on respect for the traditional institution and elders.
He spoke yesterday in Ijelu, Oye Local Government, at his re-election campaign.
Fayemi said rather than desecrate the traditional institution as was once witnessed in the state, his administration had elevated the social status and well-being of monarchs, such as the health outreach to palaces and the distribution of brand new cars to them.
He said: “We are going to win. We are a successful government. We were not chased away for electoral fraud or state-sponsored terrorism. We do not lock up traditional rulers in the booths of cars or disrespect elders.
“We take care of our elders by giving them stipends monthly. We gave brand new cars to our traditional rulers and we are not a government of abandoned projects.”
Fayemi said of the requests made by Ijelu, the only one yet to be granted is the repair of the Ijelu/Itapa road, which has been incorporated in the 2014 budget and would be done before December.
At Omu, he urged those yet to obtain their permanent voter cards to do so at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices in their local government areas.
The governor, who visited traditional rulers, said the voter card is the greatest weapon with which the people could engender the continuation of good governance.
He said his administration was able to bring about change in all communities because it never discriminated.
The governor listed projects executed by his administration in Omu as school renovation, 3.6 km Omu/Ilemeso road, Ifon/Abudo/Temidire Street road and the renovation of open market stalls.
Ongoing projects in the town include the construction of the Owajumu’s palace, 5km township road and 22.5km Omu/Gede/Ayede road.
At Itapa-Ekiti, some of the community’s 70 beneficiaries of the Social Security Scheme for the Elderly thanked him for his concern for their welfare and prayed that God would give him long life and victory over his opponents.
Some Labour Party (LP) members in the town defected to the APC. They said they were attracted to the APC by Fayemi’s “outstanding performance”.
Other towns visited by the campaign train included Osin, Ilupeju and Ire.
In all the towns visited, the people rolled out the drums and welcomed the governor with dancing and singing.
On the campaign train were Deputy Governor Prof. Dupe Adelabu; Ekiti APC Chairman Chief Jide Awe; Director-General of the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation Bimbo Daramola; Secretary to the State Government Ganiyu Owolabi; Chief of Staff to the Governor Yemi Adaramodu and commissioners, among others.