A major crisis might be brewing in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti, as former governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi disclosed that there won’t be automatic return tickets for members of the National Assembly from the state in the 2027 general election.
He explained that as a leader of the party in the state, the likes of senate leader, Opeyemi Bamidele; senate spokesman, Yemi Adaramodu; senator Cyril Fasuyi, and the other six members of the House of Representatives must justify the need for them to be returned to the parliament in 2027.
Fayemi stated this on Thursday in his country home of Isan-Ekiti, Oye Local Government Area of the state during a stakeholders meeting of the APC which was attended by leaders and members of the party across the 16 LGAs.
The former chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum used the event to announce his endorsement of Governor Biodun Oyebanji for a second term in 2026, noting that the governor has performed well and deserved to be reelected.
Fayemi who spoke in Yoruba said, “If those in the National and State Assemblies wants to get the same treatment like we leaders are giving to the governor, they should go and work at home and if leaders in their districts and constituencies tell us they are capable and worthy, we will take decisions on them.
“You know I am different from Governor Oyebanji. The governor is a gentle and humble man who sees or hears no evil but hopes you all know Kayode Fayemi that I don’t care what anyone will say or do; even if you don’t listen to me, I am where I am.
“But let me sound it here for us to hear and tell those that are not here that there is nothing like automatic return ticket for our National and State Assemblies members, there is nothing like that, I am talking on behalf of former governor, Niyi Adebayo- both of us are the leaders in the APC. Let the lawmakers go back home and work for Oyebanji and that will count as continuous assessment and I hope you will pass the test.”
On his endorsement of Oyebanji for a second term and the forces against working to cause a crisis between the duo, the former governor said, “I am not a leader that will work and come back to destroy it. What will I say that Governor Oyebanji has not done in the last two years across all sectors? I know some people like to benefit from the crisis and they want to create issues between the governor and me.
“I know some people are going about claiming to create leadership caucus, but let me tell them that if it is not in line with the constitution of the APC, it is just mobilisation group which is not bad in anyway but it is not statutory and constitutional and it is what the party say that will carry the day.
“The governor has done well even in the area of appointment and let me say that in politics, you can’t finish the work; let us support and continue to work for our man who is doing well as a governor, a very capable man for the job of which we know if we support him again, Ekiti people will accept him.
“But don’t misconstrue me because I am a Democrat and I have contested elections three times in the state, and I don’t want people to say we have closed the door of the party for whoever wants to contest. Anyone who is interested in contesting knows he is capable, and can handle it, you should allow them to come out and contest but as for my family and me, Oyebanji is our own.
“So, we should get prepared for the task ahead whenever INEC makes an announcement on the date of the election. If we are united and ready here, those in Abuja will have no option but to support us. I do hear talks that even If we support him here, what if President Bola Tinubu did not support him and let me say that our president is behind Governor Oyebanji.”
Fayemi who did not mention names took a jab at individuals in the APC he accused of leaving the party in the past and coming back to take the front seat in the projects of supporting Oyebanji for a second term.
“I have seen a lot of people clamouring and declaring support for the governor, Biodun Oyebanji to run again in 2026. Interestingly, those who were not here when I first picked Oyebanji in 2022 are already agitating for the governor’s return; these people were the ones who were insisting Oyebanji should not be made governor in 2022.
“These people left our party to another to contest and back now in APC championing the reelection of the governor, we are watching them and we thank God they are back in the fold but tell them that they will go and queue in line , because it is some of us that supports Oyebanji when they left the party. We are here for them,” he said.
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