The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has said the immediate past Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, is the best man to lead Ekiti State.
He urged the people of the state to vote massively for the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the July 14 governorship election.
Osinbajo spoke in Ado Ekiti at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium on Tuesday during the official presentation of the governorship flag to Fayemi.
At the event were the National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, the National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; a former Osun State Governor, Chief Bisi Akande; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; a former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, and 12 serving governors, among others.
The governors are Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN (Ondo), Mr. Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Abdufatah Ahmed (Kwara), Alhaji Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun) and Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi)
Also at the event were former governorship contestants, Senator Femi Ojudu, and former members of the House of Representatives, Bamidele Faparusi and Bimbo Daramola.
Osinbajo and Oyegun jointly received PDP defectors, who were led by a former Minister of State for Works, Prince Dayo Adeyeye; a serving lawmaker in the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Adeniran Alagbada, and a former Special Adviser in Ekiti State, Mr. Bosun Osaloni.
Osinbajo described Fayemi as a man sent by God to deliver Ekiti from poverty, saying the July 14 election afforded the electorate the opportunity to change their destinies for good.
“God has brought a blessed man, who is Dr. Kayode Fayemi. He will do Ekiti a lot of good if elected governor. He will bring development to your doorsteps.
“On July 14, don’t look back or sideways, just look forward to a good future ahead of you by voting for Fayemi. APC is a party of progress. Let us vote for APC in this election.
“APC will help Ekiti to develop because the PDP has outlived its usefulness,” Osinbajo said.
In his remarks, Oyegun said, “immediately I entered Ekiti, I could feel, smell that resounding victory we will record on July 14.
“You have tested two wives, and you have known who is better. Fayemi is the best man for the job. He will do Ekiti proud and restore honour and dignity to your state.”
Oyegun assured the defectors that they would not be discriminated against in the party.
Tinubu urged the electorate to effect the necessary change in Ekiti on July 14 by using their Permanent Voter Cards.
“If you really want progress, what is the essence of you staying here from morning without having PVC? Ekiti won’t go back to sadness and poverty.
“The PVC represents your red card on the day of the election. I want you to give PDP a red card on the day of the election. Fayemi was a minister, he now understands the game. I want you to vote him 100 per cent on July 14,” Tinubu pleaded.
Oshiomhole described the PDP as a party of dictators saying, “We thank God that we have swept them away. I was on my way here from Edo in 2014 when Fayemi was seeking reelection when the PDP stopped me at Benin Airport, even as a sitting governor.
“PDP was known for abuse of power and their days are gone. Ekiti is the most educated state in Nigeria and I knew you voted for Fayemi in 2014 because Ekiti has highest pupil enrolment in schools then and I know that a state that is highly educated like Ekiti could not have voted for a roadside banana eater.
“On July 14, it is one man, one vote; one woman, one vote. Your votes will count this time. Nobody will tinker with it,” he said.
Bagudu, who is the Chairman of the National Campaign Council, said Nigeria had been in safe hands since 2015 with the APC.
Fayemi while addressing supporters promised that all the programmes initiated by his administration but abrogated by the present government would be restored.
“The Youth in Agriculture, Youth Volunteer, the Ekiti State Traffic Management Agency, social security scheme and other landmark programmes will be revamped for the benefit of Ekiti people.
“Governor Ayo Fayose said he wanted continuity, I know Ekiti won’t subscribe to the continuity of poverty, wanton neglect, fraud and pauperisation of our people in the name of governance.”
Former Governor of Ekiti State, Niyi Adebayo, said that INEC would not listen to the plea by some groups that the Federal Government should not deploy soldiers and police for the election.
