By Baron Ike
Signs of what to expect in Ekiti State in July when the governorship election would be held emerged on Saturday as the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi, boasted that the All Progressives Congress(APC) will deploy every arsenal of the government to wrest power from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Fayemi also threatened that once the PDP was trounced, GovernorAyo Fayose of Ekiti State would be prosecuted over mismanagement of the economy of the state.
Fayode defeated Fayemi, a former governor of the state ( between October 16, 2010 and October 15), 2014, during the governorship poll of barely four years ago.
But speaking on Saturday at a rally in Ado Ekiti, where he declared his intent to seek the APC ticket for the July 14 governorship election, Fayemi assured that whoever emerged from the party’s primaries would be supported by other aspirants to ensure victory at the polls.
At the last count, Fayemi is the 37th aspirant seeking the APC governorship ticket in Ekiti state.
Fayemi said: “They said the June 21, 2014 governorship poll was free, fair and credible, so that of July 14, 2018 too will be free, fair and transparent.
“They will accuse us of so many things. They will accuse us of using federal might, but we will not care.
“We will use local, state and federal powers to take over Ekiti from a rapacious and government being run by a brigand in Ekiti.”
Fayemi’s flag- off rally, which was well attended by party supporters, created a traffic snarl that left motorists stranded for hours.
The minister who used the declaration to highlight his achievements during his tenure as governor, said he would want to bring back the “good days” and ensure the state was rescued from the “misrule” the current government had brought the state to.
He however stressed the need for members of the APC to be united during and after the primaries.
Fayemi said: “Let me say this, I am a loyal party man and I am ready to support whoever the party fields as the candidate.
“Yes, I am holding an important position in this government through the grace of God and by the magnanimity of our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, and I am satisfied with it if politics that I play is for me and my family alone.
“But there is an unfinished business in our State. We have to complete and bring back those projects we initiated when we were in the saddle.
“Again, politics to me, is not about title but about service and sacrifice.”
On the acrimony among the APC governorship aspirants, Fayemi urged the State Working Committee to set out a code of ethics to regulate the conducts of every contestant, describing the tirades against his person as unacceptable.
His words: “It is absolutely unacceptable for aspirants to indulge in abuses, use intemperate languages against one another. If we do this, we will be damaging the brand the APC is known for.
“Each contestant should sell his brand to the party delegates who will decide our fates.
“We should be ready to support whoever the party picks as the candidate, provided the process is free, fair and transparent if truly we are loyal party men. I will see whoever fights after the primary as a mole who was sent to destroy our party.”
The APC acting chairman, Kemi Olaleye, said the party would do its best to be transparent in the primary.
Olaleye said: “We are in a sensitive time and we need ourselves. No one can win
election alone, so I beg of you to not use your writeups on our platforms to destroy our party,” she said.
“Let us be united and know that we have only one enemy, which is Fayose for us to be able to win.
“Our minister has been supportive of the party. We are proud of him for using his Ministerial position to help Ekiti and APC members.”