MINES & STEEL MINISTER, DR. KAYODE FAYEMI JOINS EKITI GUBER RACE

•TO FLAG OFF CAMPAIGN THIS SATURDAY IN ADO-EKITI
•TO RESIGN IN A FEW WEEKS TIME
•REVEALS WHY HE IS RUNNING AGAIN

The much talked about rumour about Dr. Kayode Fayemi joining the race for Ekiti governorship is real. This is because City People Online can confirm to you that Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, the Mines & Steel Minister is going to contest the July 2018 Ekiti polls. And this is authoritative.

The Minister who was once Governor of the state told City People Online last Sunday that he will be running for Ekiti governorship. He will be flagging off his campaign this Saturday 14th April, 2018 at Ado Ekiti.
“Recall that a few weeks ago when the media asked me whether I would throw my hat in the ring or not I said I had not made up my mind then. I told them that when we get to that bridge we would cross it. We are at that bridge now. Yes, I am running for Ekiti governorship.

Asked why he is running again for governorship having been Governor of Ekiiti once, he explained that he wants to be Governor to go and save Ekiti people from Squalor and abject poverty which is now the order of the day in the State. “All the good policies we left behind have been abandoned Everything I have done has been destroyed. Ekiti has been destroyed and it is so bad that a citizens sense of self worth is being called to question. Our policy on the aged has been stopped. Many more good policies which they ought to have built on have all been stopped”.

“I keep telling people that we didn’t lose the 2014 elections. It was rigged. What happened in 2014 should be addressed. I chose not to contest the verdict of that election, but subsequent events have proven me right, by that, I mean all the revelations that came out about recorded meetings held by some people on how to rig the Ekiti elections. So, I am of the opinion that what happened in 2014 should be addressed. Did we really lose that elections in 2014? I don’t think so.”

I am not saying anything now. The influence and might of the federal government in the election was very visible for everyone to see. It had a significant effect on what happened on June 24th, 2014. But I chose not to challenge it. As I begin my campaign I will be telling people to remember the good things we did in Ekiti, like the Human Capital Development, Infrastructural Development, the increase in salary which came 3 times in my 4 years.

All those giant strides that we recorded in the area of education has been frittered away Ekiti is now rated high in the list of states with a high number of out of school children in Nigeria. When people ask me why are you running? What did you leave behind in Ekiti that you are going back to pick, I tell them it is because of the experience I have had as a governor, a Minister and having been an academic. I am the most qualified of all the aspirants.

I am out to rescue our people in Ekiti. People have asked me why leave being a Minister at the federal level, to be governor in a small state like Ekiti. People have asked why do you want to leave being a small fish in an ocean for being a big fish in a small pond? I tell them it is about Service. If politics for you is about service then, you can’t sit in Abuja. You have to get closer to your people and that is in Ekiti.

I am thrilled by al we were able to achieve in 4 years. Ekiti recorded the highest enrolment rate, highest life expectancy rate, lowest incidents of HIV AIDS. All of these have changed for the worse.”

When I put myself up for elections it is because I believe the APC needs a strong candidate in Ekiti to defeat the PDP. Politics is not like a game of Ludo. Experience comes into play at some levels, not only Expertise. This is not Political Entertainment. This is about Power. The APC needs a man with intellectual capacity and material security to confront the political machine Fayose has put in place in the state. I am better placed, given my own accomplishments to confront the PDP in the July 14 elections. I have an added advantage. I come with a whole range of experiences including helping to win an election in neighbouring Ondo State.

Why didn’t Fayemi appear before the administrative panel of enquiry set up by Gov. Fayose which later indicted him? Will that verdict not disqualify Fayemi, he was asked “No. it won’t” he said “What they did is illegal and we complained at the initial stage. We contested it. Go and check Section 182 of the Constitution. Only a court of record can ban or debar anyone, it is a witch hunt. I have gone to court to challenge it.

Will he continue as a Minister and then contest? No. I will be resigning soon to contest. I mean serious business. I am going to follow what the Nigerian constitution says and what we have in the APC Constitution. According to APC Constitution it says at least 30 days to election I am a Public office holder running for elections. I am going to comply. I am leaving office soon”.

“I am worried by the mass disillusionment in the state. Fayose is owing teachers salary arrears from July 2017 to April 2018. He is owing Civil Servants 6 months backlog. As I start my campaign, I am purely going to run on my records and the records of the administration I represent at the national level. Fundamentally, what I did in Ekiti is what I am selling to the people, I am coming to complete some of the work I did not complete in Ekiti. We would reintroduce all the laudable policies we had before that Fayose cancelled like the N5,000 we give the aged people.

As a serving Minister, I have helped Ekiti State government with projects. In the Agriculture sector, we tried to help the state with the Agric borrowers’ programme by asking the Ekiti Agric Commissioner to write us to request for it. We didn’t hear anything from them. We helped the Youth Volunteer Scheme (M Power Programme). I pushed for the national rail line to be extended to Ekiti. When it was being discussed I made my contributions and made a case for Ekiti to be included, ditto for the Federal Secretariat.

That is why I say that the person my party should pick is someone who can help my party deliver victory in Ekiti.