Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has come under severe criticisms as a fallout of his consistent political greed, wingless ambitious pursuits and particularly, his recent flirtatious visit to Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Fayemi, in what was considered an abuse of privilege offered him as leader of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), embarked on a dirty subtle campaign tour to boost his wingless presidential ambition.
A video of the visit which has gone viral, shows Wike, the host, mocking Fayemi, wondering why the Ado-Ekiti/Akure road, a 30-kilometre stretch, remains deplorable, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) governor goes about flaunting his ‘contentious achievements’ as Ekiti state incumbent governor, to seek selfish political gains.
During the visit too, Wike shouted down Fayemi who described himself as an activist who fought for the present democracy during “the days of our struggle”.
The Rivers governor said there was no record anywhere that Fayemi participated in the struggle for democracy, noting that the Ekiti governor was only assisted by his political benefactor and was at best an opportunist.
Political observers say Fayemi, not really sure of his chances of gaining recognition for his presidential aspiration in APC, after he leaves office next year, has resorted to hobnobbing with the opposition.
Reacting to the seeming humiliation of the Ekiti governor by his Rivers counterpart, an Ekiti pressure group – Ekiti Renaissance Movement (ERM), in a statement, said, “It served him (Fayemi) right”.
In the statement jointly issued by its President, Comrade Andrew Folarin, and Secretary, Comrade Yishau Eweje, the group said it was fitting that “Fayemi, having wasted the resources of Ekiti on his infantile presidential ambition at the expense of the suffering masses, should be taught a lesson of his life by an outsider who is not afraid to tell him the truth.”
“Fayemi’s humiliation in far-away Port Harcourt is a recapitulation of a Yoruba adage that ‘a child who is incorrigible at home will be taught bitter lessons by outsiders’.
“Here is a governor who goes around the country like a showbiz man, leaving the state to suffer in rot.
“In the last four years, one can hardly point to any physical achievement by the Fayemi administration other than his hanky-panky political games and divide-and-rule tactics.
“He hoodwinks with sweet talks and resounding grammar but does nothing for the masses who voted him into power.
“Go to other Yoruba states, there are many road projects that his fellow governors are executing, including even federal roads.
“But in Ekiti, we have a governor who fritters away our lean resources, pursing a presidential ambition that is dead on arrival,” the ERM complained.
Besides, the group described the Ekiti governor as an ingrate with the way and manner he has been undermining the political interests of his benefactor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, “and that is why he could go to Wike and work out for himself, a polite insult”.
It also punctured Fayemi’s claim that he was involved in pro-democracy activities during the military era.
“The records are there for everyone to see; nowhere was the name of anyone called Kayode Fayemi mentioned among the pro-democracy activists.
“We heard of Abraham Adesanya, Adekunle Ajasin, Bola Ige, Bola Tinubu and others. Not even a Kayode Fayemi was an acolyte, much less lead in the struggle.
“All that can be confirmed is that Tinubu, in the democratic era, only assisted Fayemi to become someone, politically,” the group averred.
The ERM, meanwhile, called on the ruling APC to sanction Fayemi, describing his recent visit to a PDP governor to seek support for his presidential aspiration as “sheer anti-party activity”.
“It was no more than a play of Judas,” the group quipped.
