Friday 4 April 2014

Ekiti 2014: Fayose, Adeyeye publicly unite, call for unity in PDP

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Ayodele Fayose, and one of the leading governorship aspirants of the party, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye, on Thursday, publicly announced their unity in their party's bid to defeat Governor Kayode Fayemi of the  All Progressives Congress (APC) in the June 21 election.

Fayose, who described Adeyeye as "a formidable figure in the PDP, who cannot be ignored," while speaking at the reconciliatory meeting, appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to appoint Adeyeye as a member of the Federal Executive Council to replace Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade, who resigned recently to contest the party's governorship ticket.

At the meeting, which saw the coming together of the two major groups in Ekiti PDP, they pledged to  unite for the sake of the PDP in the election and promised to join forces to "dislodge the APC from power in the state for the sake of Ekiti and the Ekiti people."

At at meeting held at the secretariat of the Prince Adedayo  Adeyeye Movement (PAAM) in Ado Ekiti, tens of members of PAAM and those of the Ayo Fayose Campaign Organisation and many other members of the party witnessed the formal reconciliation.

Fayose said on the occasion that he was not seeking re-election as the governor of the state to scheme vengeance against anybody, saying among other things, the major task would be to unite all members of the party and the state at large if elected governor.

He said, "I am not coming to Ekiti to be vindictive. I think it would mean I don't know what I am doing if I should return to Ekiti Government House after seven years and start running after anybody.

"I want to plead with all the aggrieved aspirants to bury the hatchet and work for the party's success in the forthcoming election, saying "I promise not to betray anybody in the PDP, including Adeyeye.

"I also want to plead with our supporters to refrain from fanning the embers of discord. Let us be united and ensure that we win this election. This is a great task we have to achieve," Fayose said.

Speaking about his  resolve to remain in the PDP despite his loss at the primaries,  Adeyeye said "nobody can be more aggrieved than me among the aspirants on the conduct of the primaries. But as a party man, I have to forget the past and work for the emergence of our candidate at the poll.

"I was one of the aspirants who fought vigorously for zoning of the governorship to the South, but the authorities, I mean the powers that be, didn't see it that way.

"But despite this, I promised that I will not join any other party because I believe if we come together and win the election, everybody will be brought on board. So to me, there is no victor, no vanquished."

CNPP charges candidates to stick to issue-based campaigns

Ekiti State chapter of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has warned candidates of political parties in the June 21, 2014 governorship election in the state to stick to issues in their bid to win the support of the electorate ahead the election.

The conference, in a statement made available to newsmen in Ado Ekiti, on Thursday, also asked the candidates to warn their supporters against violence during campaigns, saying "no one should constitute himself as a threat to the existing peace in the state."

In the statement signed by the chairman of the state chapter of the CNPP, Prince Tunji Ogunlola, it noted what he said was "a recurring trend in the campaigns of one of the candidates for the election who has been coming up with unfounded allegations in a bid to cause disaffection in the state" and said "such unfounded allegations will not do anyone any good but to put the state on the edge."

According to Ogunlola, "allegation that the state government has received N400 billion in the last three years by the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Opeyemi Bamidele, will not serve anybody's interest but to cause disaffection within the polity."

It maintained that from its investigation into the finances of the state, the allocation so far received was not anything near the N400 billion claimed by the LP candidate, adding that it was convinced that the state government had been very prudent with the available resources.

The conference stressed that the next governor of the state must possess good qualities, including sound education that could drive development in the state, saying the state would not vote for a violent person who could affect the existing peace in the state.

It added that anyone aspiring to be the governor must be able to continue with the good work going on in the state,  saying the state would not want a governor that would turned back the wheel of progress going on in the state.

It, however, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the recently- concluded continuous voters registration exercise, saying it was satisfied with the conduct of the exercise.

It appealed to INEC to ensure that the coming governorship election in the state was not only free and fair but violent-free to ensure that the votes of the electorate counted in the election.

The conference added that the integrity of the INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Muhammadu Jega, would be at stake in the election, saying the governorship election would be a signpost to the 2015 general election in the country.

'We succeed because we respect traditional institution'

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, on Thursday, continued his community-to-community campaign ahead of the June 21 governorship election in the state and  said his administration "has been able to attract God's blessings and approval because of its respect for the traditional institution and elders."

Governor Fayemi, while speaking in Ijelu in Oye Local Government Area of the state during his re-election campaign, said "rather than desecrate the traditional institution as was once witnessed in the state, my administration had instead, elevated the social status and the well-being of the traditional rulers through various perks, some of which are the health outreach to palaces and the brand new cars distributed to all of them."

He said: "We are going to win, we are a successful government. We are not chased away on account of electoral fraud or state-sponsored terrorism. We don't lock up traditional rulers in the booth of cars, and we don't treat our elders with disrespect.

"We take care of our elders by giving them social security stipends every month. We also gave brand new cars to our traditional rulers and we are not a government of abandoned projects," the governor said.

Fayemi added that of all the requests presented to his administration by the Ijelu community, the only one yet to be granted was the Ijelu/Itapa Road which had also been incorporated into the 2014 budget and would be done before December.

In Omu, the governor urged all eligible voters in the state who were yet to obtain their permanent voter's card to do so at the INEC office in their respective local government areas.

Addressing a throng of his supporters and admirers in the town, Fayemi said the voter's card remained the greatest weapon with which they could engender the continuation of good governance in the state.

Fayemi, who paid a courtesy call on traditional rulers in all communities visited, noted that his government was able to bring change to all the communities in the state because it never discriminated.

The governor listed the projects executed by his government in Omu to include school renovation, 3.6km Omu/Ilemeso road, Ifon/Abudo/Temidire Street road and the renovation of open market stall.

Ongoing projects in the town include construction of Owajumu's palace, construction of 5km township road and 22.5km Omu/Gede/Ayede road.
Other towns visited by the campaign train included Osin, Itapa, Ilupeju and Ire.

In all towns visited, the people rolled out the drums to welcome the governor with dance and singing.

Those who joined the governor on the campaign train included the Deputy Governor, Professor Dupe Adelabu, Ekiti APC Chairman, Chief Jide Awe, the Director-General of the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Hon. Bimbo Daramola, Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Granite Owolabi, commissioners, Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Yemi Adaramodu, amongst others.

APC chieftains drum up support for Fayemi

Three All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains in Ekiti State, Honourable Ade Ajayi, who is a state lawmaker representing Oye Constituency 1 in the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Honourable Tayo Eegunlusi, Secretary of Ifelodun /Irepodun Local Government and Honourable Ibitoye Seun, Secretary of OIjero Local Government have all called on the good people of the state to troop out en masse on the June 21 governorship election in the state and vote for Governor Kayode Fayemi.

According to the three politicians, Governor  Fayemi deserved a second term because he had succeeded in turning the state around for better in terms of provision of social and physical infrastructure, creation of job opportunities for the youth, ensuring of good working relationship among the executive the judiciary as well as the legislative arms of government among others.

While speaking on the recent kick-off campaign rally of Governor Fayemi, Honourables Ajayi, Eegunlusi and Ibitoye expressed their gratitude to all the APC governors that were present as well as all the political leaders of the party, including the large crowd of electorate who came to declare their loyalty and support for Fayemi's re- election.

Via: Nigerian Tribune

No comments: