Nigeria Would Be Doomed If Buhari Is Re-Elected- Gov. Fayose
Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has said Nigeria would be doomed if President Muhammadu Buhari is given a second term in office.
He said this while being interviewed in a national Television Broadcast on Saturday.
According to a press statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Idowu Adelusi, Fayose urged Nigerians to vote out Buhari in 2019.
The governor said: “Before this administration came to power, I warned Nigerians, and I am warning again, if by any chance Buhari comes back to power, they would be doomed.
“I have nothing against Buhari, he is our leader and remains so. All that I have spoken about presidency has come to pass. I was a 24 years old man when President Buhari was military Head of State at that time, the same way he ruled then is that same way it is happening now.
“Majority of the people that voted for Buhari are in the age bracket of 18 to 40. They didn’t know who he was. I am telling you expressly that this country is not well governed. The principal thing the people look for before you can talk of food is security, Nigeria is not secured.
“I said that the President wasn’t fit health wise to govern and he was away from office for more than half a year. That explains what I have been saying,
“Nigeria does need a man of over 70 years of age. It is not personal and I respect President Buhari but the fact is that my mother cannot say she wants to be governor of Ekiti. Nigeria needs a hands on presidency.
“You talk about Buhari’s experience but your experience is okay only if the body is okay and vice versa. Let us be realistic, Nigeria is of 180 million people, can’t we find one young, vibrant person who can lead us?
“We are more militarised than ever before. I would support people who would have imbibed democratic principles to be our President.
“I am going to be President of this country, write it down. I know many would not believe me because the carnal things are what men believe. I told them I will be governor again they didn’t believe me, now I am here as governor. I have told camera men, take my picture because I may be a bit older then. As long as the lord liveth I will rule this country.”
Alleging that Buhari is not fully in charge but overwhelmed by a cabal, Fayose said: “The President is not in charge he is being governed himself, by a cabal, just like it happened under late Yar, Adua. As time goes on, these cabals will be exposed.
“Governors of Benue, Taraba and Adamawa are now suffering in silence. I remember when I did the anti-grazing law, my brother, Governor Ortom said he cannot enact such law but now they are coming back to take the document on the law from me. Governor Ortom said he alerted the presidency before the Benue massacre. I will never cry to Abuja, because I cannot cry in the presence of somebody who cannot console me. Those who have gone there, what has the FG done for them.
“If it is not an hatched job, how did the the herdsmen murder over 70 people and some governors are endorsing the presidency for a second term. Everywhere in Nigeria, those killed have their blood crying.
“Obasanjo, Buhari and others should be done away with as they are expired leaders. We should look for younger and fresher leaders to lead us now.”
Fayose explained why he chose hunters to assist his state on menace of herdsmen: ” The constitution of Nigeria is no longer working. Let me come to the level of incidents happening around. In the conception of that constitution, it does not really want the governor of Ekiti to have control over security apparatus to help his people.
“And to worsen matters, people who are supposed to protect this constitution are now collaborators, they are the ones trampling on the constitution and that is the Federal Government.
“Lamenting the herdsmen attack, he alleged that the Federal Government under Buhari lacks the political will to tackle the challenge, “Everyday now, there is an occurrence of killing people. There is no security for anybody.
“A herder would threaten to command his cow to attack farmers. Anybody can see you on the way and attack you. They even slaughter their victims from the back. You can’t even demean an animal like that. They would even threaten farmers that if I see you in your farm, I will kill you. we have lost it. This administration rode to power with threefold promises, to fix economy and power and fight corruption, everything has failed in all aspects.
Let us look at Ghana on the issue of herdsmen attacks, that country delt with their herdsmen and got rid of them and they have peace of mind afterwards.
“But look at Nigeria, a minister would say that a governor is blocking the road. How important is a cow to human beings. I don’t know how we got into this mess as a nation, we are at the mercy of cattle rearers. We are now at the mercy of the current administration headed by someone who does not see any other tribe as important. Let us ask ourselves, the number of people that have been killed by Fulani herdsmen since Buhari came into power is more than the ones killed right from independence till 2015.”
Fayose, who again spoke on former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter, said: “Obasanjo is the genesis of many of our problem in Nigeria. He has done so many damages to this country. Don’t forget Obasanjo used six law makers to remove a Speaker, he was same person that levelled Odi in Niger Delta. He gave us Yar’Adua, Jonathan and also Buhari. Obasanjo and Buhari are tired and should retire. Buhari is tired, we should retire them from leading this country. The Lord God of Israelites would lead us out of this dungeon these leaders have plunged us into. There is no longer security and the economy of Nigeria has been shrunk by 45 per cent. They may begin to fight me, that is if God allows it. But I am saying that this government has failed.
“Obasanjo cannot come to PDP or say anything good about the party because of the way he left the party. That is understandable. But he himself does not have electoral value. Obasanjo never gave recognition to late Abiola, yet it was Abiola who gave his life for the struggle for democratic rule in Nigeria. But Obasanjo gets angry whenever one mentions Awolowo and Abiola. He is a man who says he is larger than his person.”
In his reaction to PDP’s convention and the way forward for Nigeria in 2019, he said: “PDP is the principal alternative to APC in next election. The APC has done its worst to cripple PDP, they sponsored a lot of wolves in sheep’s skin against us but we have managed to wriggle out of that situation.
“On the PDP convention, in everything that you do, there will be issues. The APC has been postponing its convention while we have done ours since. APC can’t do their convention now. We have done something. A lot of our people who went to join APC are facing fire where they are. Examples of them include Saraki, Atiku and Ortom. If you cannot get to your destination in a journey, you have an option of returning to where you are coming from.
When asked why there is a cold war between him and ex-governor Fayemi, he said: “On Fayemi and picture of the bed of government House he built. Something must have caused him to lose the election to me, which is the anger of the people. And building a big house of over N3 billion in a state like Ekiti with N250 million Internally Generated Revenue. Don’t forget that on the day I was sworn in, I asked everybody to go to the Ayoba House built by Fayemi to see everything there. That must have been how the pictures got out.
“The issue between me and Fayemi is not one of love lust. I am a sitting governor and should so respected. I didn’t disturb Fayemi when he was in office. I stood by Fayemi while he wanted to be governor of Ekiti. Asiwaju said I should support Fayemi and I did. Late Yar’ Adua called me at that time to support PDP I refused and heeded Asiwaju. We gave Fayemi our best but when he got to office he became something else. Look at what he is doing to Asiwaju who is his benefactor now.”
On his support for his deputy, Olusola Kolapo and the for 2018 gubernatorial poll in Ekiti and the disagreement of some his party chieftains on this, he said: “Nothing has been done because primaries have not been conducted. It is my right to support whoever I wish. In advanced democracy, even in America, immediate past President Obama openly supported Hillary Clinton. If it was those against my support for my deputy that I supported, they will be in celebration now. They won’t be against it.
“One of them became a Minister because I wrote to the then President to recommend him. After that I made him a chairman of the Governing Council of the Ekiti State university. I also nominated him for the Caretaker Committee in the PDP. I have no apologies with all humility, to have supported Olusola.”
Governor Fayose also reacted to criticism on his stomach infrastructure scheme saying: “My critics can say whatever they like but while they criticise me for distributing rice and tokens to the common people, some of them have copied that style and are doing it. Ambode and Wike can be seeing white men and other Ambassadors in Lagos and Rivers, I see the ordinary folks in Ekiti. In Ekiti, you have to come to the level of the people, the masses.
“Eighty per cent of the development in Ekiti were done by me and you can see such indications all over the state. I have developed the sate immensely and what I do is beyond stomach infrastructure.
“People call me all sorts of names, because they can’t hold me down. I have heard of all their machinations and all the money they want to use but they will meet me there.”
On the possibility of the FG using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against him after leaving office, the governor said: “EFCC is not the court and mostly it doesn’t win its cases. EFCC and I were in court for eight years and I defeated them. I am not afraid of them. Everything they do, I take them to court. It is the EFCC that doesn’t obey the law and that is why we have all these challenges. They have taken everything personal to bring people down. That is not fighting corruption. They should not be in an hurry. They should take their time, ” he said.
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