Ayo Fayose, governor of Ekiti state, says former president Goodluck Jonathan should not have participated in the 2015 presidential election.
Gov. Ayo Fayose
Speaking on Channels Television programme, Politics Today, the outspoken governor of Ekiti state, Ayodele Fayose, has said that former president, Goodluck Jonathan should not have participated in the 2015 presidential election.
Though Fayose was one of the main supporters of the ex-president in the build up to the election, the governor said those who sang to Jonathan to run did not allow him get back home, after the defeat, before saying they had retired from politics, adding that the elders of the PDP must take the back seat for condemning the party to a presidential loss in 2015.
"I am an ardent supporter of former President Goodluck Jonathan, I love him, I would continue to defend his cause, I would continue to stand up for him, because he did well.
"In my opinion, the only thing Jonathan did that I keep saying, that I hardly want to say, is that if I were him I wouldn’t have contested.
"The people that went to tell Jonathan, that convinced him to run, making him to understand that at 58, when he would be done, how would a young man be 58 and say I’m done with presidency, they were the first set of people who said we have retired from politics.
"They didn’t even allow him to get home, before they said that. All leaders are coming out today to say they want to rebuild. Rebuild what? What you destroyed? You don’t have capacity to do it," he said.
OKUPE, GEORGE WANT TO BE PDP CHAIR
"Chief Bode George is interested in the chairmanship of the party. I have a lot of respect for Chief Bode George, he’s our leader. But when we come to the nitty gritty, we must find out the motive.
"Chief Bode George told me personally that he wanted to be chairman of the party. I told him no, ‘I won’t support you’. With all due respect to the elderly people in this party; they must take the back stage. People are tired of seeing the same old faces.
"I have been hearing Ahmadu Ali since 1976, when we sang Ali must go. Chief Bode George was governor of Ondo state almost 40 years ago. They are our leaders, we love them, but they should take the back stage."
SHERIFF FOR PRESIDENT? FAYOSE AS VICE PRESIDENT?
When asked if he would support Sheriff for president, Fayose said: "I take exception to that. How would he come out and say he wants to be president? Where? Don’t ask me questions based on packaging of opposition saying Fayose wants to be vice president.
"If I want to be vice president of Nigeria, I would show interest legitimately. I’m a young man, it’s quite deserving, even people mentioning my name gladdens my heart.
"But let me tell you if Ali Modu Sheriff comes out to do anything on the contrary, in boldness, I will come out and talk against him. I’m a very blunt person. Sheriff should follow our rules.
"Then you’re talking of presidency, would he go and steal it? You want to be the referee; you want to change goal post? No, it’s not going to work. Expressly, I would not be part of anything. How would it do it? Mentioning my name that I want to be vice president is cheap blackmail."
When asked further if he is serious about not being vice-president, he replied: "If an opportunity comes, I won’t run away o. You don’t contest for the office of the vice president, you’re chosen. You don’t show interest for it, my deputy didn’t show me interest, I picked him. Atiku didn’t contest, Obasanjo picked him."
PDP WILL WIN IN 2019 BECAUSE OF ‘APC’S FAILURE’
"Let me explain something to you; it is not what the opposition did before 2015, that made them win, it is what the party in power failed to do.
"When the party in government fails to provide fuel; queues are back, trimming their promises. The exchange, average men can no longer do things, businesses are dead. You can’t import anymore.
"You can’t pay fees of your children, light is becoming unbearable, herdsmen are killing people on a daily basis. Things are not working for Nigerians now. We are at the lowest ebb of our lives.
"I was a young man of 24 when Buhari was head of state, the same attitude between 1984 and 1985 is what is happening today. The reason why they took government from him at that time is still playing out today."