Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Attacks have made me more popular – Fayose


Having been buffeted by supporters of the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) more than five times while going about selling himself to members of his party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has said the attacks have made him more popular.

Speaking in  Igede-Ekiti, Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state yesterday, the former governor said it was unfortunate that the ruling party was taking the state backward in terms of political development.

He said the state government had no reason to sponsor attacks on him and his supporters, saying the political space was wide enough for all to thrive.

He was reacting to a series of attacks on him and his supporters in the last few weeks.
Fayose and his supporters were attacked in Oye-Ekiti, Ire-Ekiti, Ikere-Ekiti, Ilawe-Ekiti, while some of his supporters were attacked in Ado-Ekiti last Thursday while pasting his posters in some parts of the town.

“Governor Kayode Fayemi campaigned hard and struggled for years for him to become  governor, so I expect him to give others the similar leverage for them to actualize their dreams  in the interest of peace,” he noted.

On the allegation that he did a similar thing when in office, Fayose said he came into office nearly a decade ago and that if he did such a thing, those in government now ought to move forward and not to follow what was wrong.

He told party members present that he was ready to prostrate and apologise to anybody who felt aggrieved by any action he took while in office.

The former governor also advised the incumbent governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi to increase the patronage of the indigenous contractors to encourage local firm owners and for more money to be in circulation in the state.

He noted that the people of Ekiti State had it real good under his regime because he was constantly engaging local contractors in execution of projects to sustain the local economy.

The Igede rally was the first in the last few weeks that recorded no ugly incident, as heavily armed security agents manned strategic places in the town.

They were led by Mr. Abayomi Akinlaja, an Assistant Commissioner of Police and the Divisional Police Officer in Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government, Mr. Jimoh Mohammed .

PDP leaders, including the former Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria(ALGON) in the state, Mr Toba Daramola, lauded Fayose for his efforts at galvanizing members of the party and pledged their support for him.

Thugs injure two PDP members
In another development, two members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were yesterday attacked and seriously injured in Efon-Ekiti by people suspected to be members of Action Congress of Nigeria.

The people were attacked at the party’s secretariat in the town while waiting for former Governor Ayodele Fayose who was supposed to visit the town as part of his consultations with party members in respect of his governorship ambition.

The casualties were Otunba Kanmi and a lady identified as Adunni.
They sustained machete cuts and were being treated at the Aramoko General Hospital, Aramoko-Ekiti.

A PDP leader, Mr. Segun Akinwumi, who narrated how the crisis began to newsmen, said some PDP members were standing in front of the party secretariat in the hilly town, when some ACN members, who wore vests with the inscription JKF, which connotes John Kayode Fayemi, swooped on them.

Akinwumi explained that the assailants succeeded in damaging the chairs and the louvre blades of the party’s secretariat.

He alleged that the ACN members were strong supporters of the Special Adviser on Legislative Affairs to Governor Fayemi, Hon Dapo Karounwi.

Akinwumi added that the suspected goons beat and stripped Mrs. Aduunni naked before they descended on her and other party members.

But Karounwi, former Deputy Speaker under Otunba Niyi Adebayo-led regime, who dispelled the allegation, said he had never been to Efon-Ekiti, his hometown, since Saturday.

“This information is strange to me and it is rather very unfortunate. The PDP as opposition party should not be intellectually lazy by just cooking up allegations without getting the veracity of their claims,” he said.

Karounwi, who said he was never involved in any act that could rubbish his integrity, added that “Last week, a PDP governorship aspirant, Mr. Bisi Omoyeni was in Efon Ekiti and nobody attacked him. Other PDP members had also been coming without witnessing any form of molestation.

“So, if there is any crisis today, one should be curious to find out what actually led to that crisis. But to the best of my knowledge, nothing like that happened in that community”.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Victor Babayemi, said on the phone that he was not aware of the development.

He added that he was not in the office and would find out later.

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