L-R: Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Prof. Modupe Adelabu; Chairman, All Progressives Congress, APC, Ekiti State, Chief Jide Awe; Governor Kayode Fayemi; former Governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; and Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Yemi Adaramodu, during the Fayemi Re-Election campaign tour at Iyin-Ekiti, in Irepodun/Ifelodun LGA.
A former Ekiti State Governor, Otunba Niyi Adebayo has said he decided to back Governor Kayode Fayemi for a second term because of his impressive performance and in deference to the laid down rotational order .
Similarly, Adebayo said he refused to support the governorship aspiration his towns man and candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Opeyemi Bamidele, because he failed to heed his advice and that of other well meaning Ekiti men that Iyin Ekiti, where they both hail, could not produce governor, barely ten years after it produced one between 1999 and 2003.
Ekiti has about 132 towns and communities divided along 16 local government and three senatorial districts.
Adebayo who spoke at the Re-Elect JKF Campaign rally in Iyin Ekiti on Thursday, appealed to the people of the town to reject Bamidele and vote massively for Fayemi, whom he said had impacted positively on the lives of the people of the state and whose administration had favoured the Iyins.
Adebayo told the cheering crowd of supporters that they would be labouring in vain if they make the mistake of voting for Bamidele, adding that the LP candidate does not represent the collective wishes and aspirations of the Iyin people.
Bamidele’s aspiration, is a product of inordinate ambition and sheer opportunism and not because he has genuine desire to serve.
Adebayo said: “I am the one who introduced my brother Opeyemi to you and appealed to you to vote for him when he wanted to become a legislator. But less than three months after he was elected into the House of Representatives, he came to tell me he wanted to become governor.
“I sat him down and told him the futility of his aspiration. Because one, he has not done anything to justify the confidence of the people that put him in the House. Two, I told him Iyin Ekiti where we both come from had less than ten years ago produced a governor that Ekiti people will see us (Iyin Ekiti) as greedy and unreasonable people if we now want to produce another governor while other towns have yet to do so.
“I then advised him to delay his aspiration till the time it would be okay for an Iyin man to come out. But he refused and said he must be governor at all cost and that he could do it alone with or without the support of the people.
“Iyin Ekiti has benefited tremendously from the Fayemi administration in terms of people-oriented projects and number of appointments. Iyin alone has about three commissioners and other strategic appointments under Fayemi, and given the quality of work he is doing, I want you to vote massively for Fayemi, Adebayo added.
Fayemi who hailed Adebayo for being a true leader who is not given to primodial sentiments, promised to do a lot more for Iyin people if voted in for a second term, adding that he is moved by the need to provide good governance for the people.
In an veiled reference to his opponents- the duo of Bamidele and Ayo Fayose, Fayemi said one is inexperienced and not trust worthy, while the other is reckless and had made a ship wreck of his first assignment. He added that he remains the best choice for Ekiti people, having been tested and found worthy.
Earlier at the palace of the Oluyin of Iyin, Oba Ademola Ajakaiye, the monarch had prayed for the realisation of Fayemi’s aspirations, adding that the administration had done a lot for the town and the entire Ekiti.
Oba Ajakaiye however noted Bamidele’s aspiration but admitted that he was sure the community would get a better deal in Fayemi’s second term.
He appealed to Governor Fayemi to ensure that adequate security is put in place ahead of the June 21 elections so that the peace being enjoyed in the state is not compromised.
Some armed miscreants had scaled the fence into the palace of the Oluyin earlier in the day threatening the monarch not to receive Governor Fayemi to his palace. But the police intervened and got them arrested before the governor’s arrival.
The Iyin town stood still for hours as the campaign was turned into a carnival with different groups singing and dancing round the town with posters of Governor Fayemi.
On the governor’s entourage to Iyin were Otunba Adebayo, Deputy Governor, Prof Modupe Adelabu, Speaker of the House, Dr Adewale Omirin; Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Ganiyu Owolabi; APC Chairman, High Chief Jide Awe; Commissioner for Environment, Dr Eniola Ajayi; Commissioner for Works, Mr Sola Adebayo.
Last modified: May 2, 2014
