I Won’t Go To Senate After My Tenure—Fayose

In Nigeria, most governors, after serving their tenures, which are mostly two terms of four years each, retire to the Senate. But the incumbent governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, says he will not toe that path like his ‘senior’ colleagues.

Fayose, addressing newsmen on Friday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, said he has no intention to vie for higher position after leaving the Ekiti Government House.

The governor was speaking with journalists after the Ekiti State House of Assembly declared him leader of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Asked if the endorsement by the lawmakers was a sign of him being prepared for a higher position after leaving as the state governor, Fayose said, “I’m not vying for anything. I’m not equally going to the Senate. Senate is what most governors will rush to; I’m not going. I won’t contest for Senate. So anybody expressing anything for me is wasting his time because I’m not going to beg for any office.”

Speaking further, the governor said, “I have gotten to this position because God wants me there and I’m not going to be part of any promotion to position me. No, I still have three years ahead of me. Who knows what will happen in three years’ time; who knows what will happen in two years’ time; who knows where Nigeria itself would be. So, we should all strive for the survival of this country first and forget about positioning yourself.

“Great leaders don’t talk about their political placement, they talk about the country’s placement, where the country would be at the appropriate time. But on the issue of what I stand for and what I say, I have no apologies and with all due respect, I have been like this from time immemorial and I have no apologies because this country belongs to all of us.

“This weekend, I will be 55; a lot of people died when they were 10 years old. Some died when they were 20, some when they were 30 or 40 but I’m 55. If I die today, my children will still entertain guests at my burial, you understand. They will equally leverage on my achievements for consolation. Gowon was president of this country at 28 or 29, Obasanjo was president of Nigeria at 37. Today, I’m still battling with the office of a governor and those people we are talking about are still talking in the public after being 80 or 90 years of age,” he further said.

Reacting to the notion that he should have stopped criticising President Muhammadu Buhari, Fayose queried, “For what?” pointing out that, “I will tell them the truth; opposition helps government of the day, helps Nigerians, to keep them on track. Opposition helps to check dictatorship, opposition helps to check oppression. My being here as governor, my voice today will remain by the grace of God.

“I’m not like somebody going underground for reasons of harassment; it is only shameful that the government of the day is after shadows. You want to be in power, you are in power; you have charged virtually all PDP governors to court, are we saying no APC governor is corrupt in this country? But for me, I’m not going into that; I’m not going to descend into that arena.

”For everything I say, I say it in good conscience. When I was criticising the President before he became President of Nigeria, they thought I will be quiet after. Tomorrow, if I find him wanting, I will tell him. The President is not God, he’s only leader of our country for a period of time,” he added.