No regrets supporting Jonathan - Fayose

 Press statement from Ekiti state governor...

It has become imperative once again to address the media on the constitutional and political crises being foisted on our dear State, Ekiti by irritants of unbridled ambitions, who are not only devoid of spirit of sportsmanship but implacable even when all odds are against them and roundly rejected by the good people of the state.

It is no longer news that I defeated an incumbent governor in all the 16 Local Government Areas in the State and that for the first time in the history of Nigeria, attempts were made to use the courts to prevent someone who clearly won a governorship election from assuming office.

Since June 21, 2014 that the All Progressives Congress (APC) suffered that humiliating defeat,  the party has suffered defeats in the entire local government areas in Ekiti State in four other elections, the latest being the House of Assembly election in which APC won no single seat out of the 26 seats.

Ekiti people have been persistent in their preference for me and my party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to correct the ills of the last four years and set the State on the path of greatness.

Despite that Ekiti people have consistently spoken with their votes against the APC, Nigerians are witnesses to the litany of illegalities being woven by both the national leadership of the party and its Ekiti State chapter, all in an attempt to rob Ekiti people of the mandate freely given to me.

Despite receiving bloodied nose in both the political and judicial arena in the hands of the Ekiti masses as represented by me, these desperate politicians are unrelenting in their shenanigans, the latest being the information at my disposal that even after May 29, the state would not know peace.

I however trust Ekiti people to do what is right in securing peace in their land.
I have been severally informed that I became the prime demolition target of the APC national leadership because of my overt and unalloyed support for President Goodluck Jonathan during the campaigns.

Insiders in their party also told me that APC leaders were also yet to get over the fact that in the entire South-West, Ekiti was the only state they could not "rob" for General Mohammed Buhari (rtd). The eagle-eyed surveillance of Ekiti people ensured that.

I wish to declare unequivocally that I remain loyal to President Jonathan even after May 29 as my support for his re-election and administration was not about bread-and-butter. I was convinced he was moving Nigeria in the right direction, despite all the noise. I have no regrets supporting him. If same situation presents itself again, I would do it all over.

Let me state It clearly that if President Jonathan is deserted by all Nigerians today, I, Ayodele Fayose, would remain with him. I have chosen to be his last-man standing.

If for this show of loyalty to Mr President and my party, APC and its leaders believe that the best way to pay me back is to make Ekiti ungovernable, the decision on appropriate reaction belongs to the people, whose mandate I keep in trust.

It is ironic that those who said worse things about the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) when they were in opposing parties, are the ones milling around him today, using him as an electoral talisman and demonizing us for saying things of lesser magnitude during a campaign that was mainly characterized by hate-messages from both divides.

I also want to put on record that if all PDP members decamp to APC today, I will remain the last-man standing for the party, even a I have no cause to denigrate the office of the president.

I also promise APC a robust and engaging opposition both in the South-West, and nationally, with me playing a prominent role.

Let me again state that I will continue to seek peace with my traducers and troublers of Ekiti.
Since the Supreme Court judgement which held my 2006 impeachment as illegal, unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect, my preachings have been peace. This is to see if a hand of fellowship as urged by elders in the state and the nation at large would bring sanity to the opposition camp. It definitely has nothing to do with cowardice; as Ekiti is a land of the brave.

In alerting the international community on what to expect from May 29 as regards the threat by the APC to make Ekiti ungovernable, I have decided to put on notice the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) on the imminent reign of impunity by APC as from May 29.

Since Ekiti people are certain to resist the planned plundering of their land, Nigerians and the world at large should know who to hold responsible in the event of anarchy in Ekiti State in particular and the entire Yorubaland.

God bless our land.

Ayo Fayose,

Governor, Ekiti State

23/4/15