A Governorship aspirant and Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Mr Diran Adesua, has described Governor Ayodele Fayose as ‘unfit’ to be governor taking ‘cognizance of his public conduct and outbursts’ in recent time.
He said it was ‘appalling and disparaging’ to the Ekiti’s value of honour and integrity , for Governor Fayose to have gone to the bank and made withdrawals from a controversial accounts that had attracted national attention when salaries and pensions were not regularly paid for the past six months.
Apparently to prevent implosion in the party and unwarranted suspicion, the APC State Working Committee has barred its members from hobnobbing with any of the governorship ambition ahead of 2018 poll.
Fayose had last week stormed Zenith bank to make personal transaction after the Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to lift the ban placed on the governor’s accounts.
Adesua, former Commissioner under Otunba Niyi Adebayo-led government between 1999 and 2003, said the APC stands the chance of dislodging the PDP in Ekiti in 2018 if the primary is allowed to throw up a credible candidate that has grassroots appeal.
Speaking on Wednesday during a visit to the APC State Working Committee to unveil his 2018 governorship ambition, Adesua advised Fayose to be wary of his public conduct and the backlash as such would have negative impact on the corporate integrity of an average Ekiti man.
“How can a governor went to the bank and came out with bags of money in his hands in a state where salaries, gratuities and pensions were not paid? It is affecting our image negatively and this must stop in 2018”, he said.
Adesua, who hails from Omuo Ekiti appealed “to the leadership of the party to be fair to all contestants at the primary , so that we can have a formidable candidate that can defeat the PDP.
“In voting at the primary, the delegates must think of a candidate who has the potentials, who understands the problems and the people . I have been civil servant and I never imagined salaries being owed for three months and this I believe can’t happen under a people-oriented governor.
“The reason why the APC lost in 2014 was that, there was a disconnect between the government of that time and the people. The citizens and government must be on the same page and this is the reason why we must pick a candidate that is loved by the people”.
The Acting Chairman of the Party, Mrs Kemi Olaleye , warned those tagging some members of the party as ‘decampees’ to desist from such, saying APC has only one united family.
“All the contestants are our children. The SWC in Ekiti will be fair to all. We will treat everybody as equals because no law in the country bars anybody from joining any political party of his choice. Even Governor Fayose can join APC , but it is only that we don’t want a character like him in APC.
“No aspirant must lobby SWC members, rather go and lobby the delegates, that is where you can get your votes”, she warned.
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