The Ekiti State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ekiti State, had on June 10 gave a hint of a mega rally to formally flag off the governorship campaign of its candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi, for the July 14 polls in the state, scheduled to hold on June 19.
Making the announcement shortly after the party inaugurated the State Campaign Council, constituted to work with Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu-led National Campaign Council, to achieve victory for the party at the impending poll, the party’s candidate Fayemi, said the final grand rally, has been slated for July 10, when President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to lead national leaders of the party to the state. It was later discovered that it will be a big event, when the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation, earlier in the week issued a press statement that the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, will be in the state for the mega rally. The statement, signed by the Director of Media and Publicity of the organisation, Wole Olujobi, also said that the APC National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, the National Leader of the party Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Bagudu and members of the National Campaign Council will grace the occasion. Reports had it that, Tinubu and former Interim National Chairman of the party Chief Adebisi Akande, arrived Ado Ekiti on Monday, June 18, while Osinbajo, who was billed to present the party’s flag to the APC governorship candidate, Dr Fayemi, at the rally was to come on the day of the event. The heavy security presence seen as early as 6.30 am all around Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital on that day was a pointer to the fact that the state was set to receive August visitors. Osinbajo, after touching down at Akure Airport traveled by road to Ado Ekiti, some 50 minutes’ drive from the Ondo State capital. While security operatives were stationed on all major roads in the town, regular policemen deployed in both sides of the major highway in from Akure, through Ikere Ekiti to Ado Ekiti, and other routes the Vice President will not but pass through. Men of the Federal Roads Safety Corps, FRSC, were on the major roads to ensure free flow of traffic, while regular and mobile police were also mobilised to maintain law and order. Operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, were seen in their numbers in and around Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, the venue of the event. The road leading to the stadium from Okesa area of the town was cordoned off with heavy security presence for proper human and vehicular control. People coming into the stadium were frisked physically and with the aid of metal detector devices before they were allowed in. Party members, supporters and admirers of the APC candidate, who were clad in Ankara attire, bearing the name and logo of the party, with brooms, the APC insignia in their hands, started trooping into the stadium as early as 9.am. Several others remained on the streets to welcome the Vice President to the state and join his convoy to the venue. Before the arrival of the Vice President, party members who came in their numbers were being entertained intermittently by popular fuji musician, Adewale Ayuba and comedian, Gbenga Adeyinka who doubles as the Master of Ceremony. While waiting for the arrival of Prof. Osinbajo, various ethnic groups and their leaders in the state declared their support for Dr Fayemi. The groups included, the Hausa, Igbo, Urhobo Ebira, Igala groups resident in the state among others. Students groups, artisans, interest groups also throw their weight behind the APC candidate. The stadium came alive, when the convoy of the Vice President, accompanied by Fayemi, APC national leaders, over ten state governors as well as hundreds of party supporters arrived the venue of the event about 2.30 pm. Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, AbdulAzeez Yari (Zamfara), led his other colleagues, including Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun; Abiola Ajimobi, Oyo; Rauf Aregbesola, Osun; Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Ondo; and Godwin Obaseki, Edo. Other governors on ground for the mega rally, which was witnessed by a mammoth crowd, were: Abubakar Badaru, Jigawa; Bagudu, Kebbi; Kashim Shettima, Borno; Simon Lalong, Plateau; Yahaya Bello, Kogi and Abdulfatah Ahmed, Kwara.) Other leading members of the party, including serving ministers include: Mansur Dan Ali, Defence; Abubakar Bawa Bwari, Mines and Steel Development and Lai Mohammed, Information and Culture; were on ground in Ekiti to show solidarity with their former colleague. Also at the rally were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha; APC National Secretary, Mala Mai Buni; former governor of Ekiti State, Chief Adeniyi Adebayo, former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, former governor of Ekiti State and immediate past National Deputy Chairman, South, of the APC, Chief Segun Oni; Special Assistant to the President on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu and Senator Olorunnibe Mamora as well as other members of the APC National Working Committee, NWC. Osinbajo, while addressing the crowd, admonished the people to vote for Fayemi, saying the state and its people stand to benefit a lot from the APC both at the federal and state levels, if the party’s candidate is elected at the impending polls. He said Fayemi is a tested politician with requisite administrative experience, who can manage the resources of the state effectively and provide good governance. He said, “God has chosen this lucky man (Fayemi) to bring good governance and purposeful leadership to the people of Ekiti State. “On July 14, don’t look elsewhere but look forward to voting the APC. The APC is a party that means well for the people, APC is a party of progressive people. “We have come here to give you a delicious soup in Ekiti; JKF (Fayemi) is that lucky man chosen to bring positive change to Ekiti. “On July 14, vote JKF and Ekiti will witness progress, development and good governance. “God has brought a blessed man, who is Dr Kayode Fayemi. He will do Ekiti a lot of good if elected governor. He will bring development to your doorsteps. “On July 14, don’t look back or sideways, just look forward to a good future ahead of you by voting for Fayemi. APC is a party of progress. “Let us vote for APC in this election. APC will help Ekiti to develop, because the PDP has outlived its usefulness.” The APC National Leader, Asiwaju Tinubu, National Chairman, Chief Oyegun and former Interim National Chairman, Chief Akande stressed the need for Ekiti people to join the progressives’ fold in the South-West by electing Fayemi as governor at the poll and put an end to their state of loneliness in the region and the country at large. Tinubu said APC has brought the broom revolution to the state to bring about the needed change and the progress Ekiti people desire. The APC leader, who urged the people to get their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, to send the PDP packing on election day said, “This is the only place where change is necessary now, this is the broom revolution. Raising the broom is not enough, what is your value of coming here if you don’t have PVCs? “If you really want progress, what is the essence of you staying here from morning till now without having PVCs. Ekiti won’t go back to sadness and poverty. “The PVCs represent your red card on the day of election. I want you to give PDP a red card on the day of election. “We have been giving PDP yellow cards all this while but on the Election Day, we are giving them the red card. “We took Fayemi to the federal level, he was minister where Osinbajo is Vice President but Ekiti is now a lone ranger. “This is your son, we have taught him, he is a friend of the President. We are going to do the election together. “He now understands the game. I want you to vote him 100 percent on July 14.” Some of the visiting governors including Ajimobi, Akeredolu, Aregbesola, Ahmed, Bello, Amosun and Bagudu, who also took turns to address the people on the need to return to the progressives fold, urged them to vote Fayemi for the turnaround of the fortunes of the state. Kebbi State governor, Bagudu, who is also the Chairman of the National Campaign Council, said Nigerians have witnessed tremendous progressive since 2015 when President Buhari and Osinbajo took over, urging people to vote for Fayemi for progress and development of the state. “If Ogun, Ondo, Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Plateau and Kebbi could embrace APC, Ekiti must do same, because we represent progress.” Oshiomhole said, “We thank God that we have swept them away. I was on my way here from Edo in 2014 when Fayemi was seeking reelection when the PDP stopped me at Benin Airport, even as a sitting governor. PDP was known for abuse of power and their days were gone. “Ekiti is the most educated state in Nigeria and I knew you voted for Fayemi in 2014, “On July 14, it is one man, one vote, one woman, one vote. Your votes will count this time. Nobody will tinker with it.” Chief Oyegun, the APC National Chairman, officially presented the party’s governorship flag to Fayemi and his running mate, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi at the rally. Former Minister of State for Works and the immediate past national publicity secretary of PDP, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, a member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly representing Ise/Orun state constituency, Mr. Adeniran Alagbada, and a former Special Adviser on Transportation to Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, Chief Bosun Osaloni and other former PDP members were formally received into the APC by Chief Oyegun. Alagbada, who is the House Deputy Leader and chairman of the House Committee on Lands and Housing, had announced his defection to the APC at a press conference in Ado-Ekiti last Tuesday. Alagbada who disclosed this said the people of his constituency are in support of his decision to dump the PDP, adding that the people of Ise/Orun are angry with Governor Fayose over his refusal to cede the governorship ticket to the zone in 2018. Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Adeyeye said the PDP is dead in Ekiti many of its leaders and members are moving in droves to APC. He said: “PDP is dead in Ekiti, it will never rise again, it has been uprooted and we will set it on fire. A lot of PDP members have defected to APC. “This is the Deputy Leader of the Assembly joining APC; four years ago, that thief is shouting 16-0, but he neglected those who made it possible. “We have visited eight local government areas, PDP members are decamping every day and when the President comes here, all of them will show up because there is nothing like PDP again in Ekiti.” Addressing the gathering, Fayemi while appreciating the leaders and members of APC present at the rally said he was humbled by the gesture of solidarity from the party’s leaders, urging Ekiti people to enthrone the progressive APC government in the state with their votes come July 14. The former minister promised to reenact all the good policies and programmes initiated by his government between 2010 and 2014 that have been jettisoned by the present government for the benefit of the people. Fayemi said, “They (PDP) said they want continuity, is it continuity of lack, continuity of poverty, continuity of 419, continuity of bad governance, continuity of suffering, continuity of non-payment of salaries, continuity of our pupils paying taxes in schools? “The Youth in Agriculture, Youth Volunteer Scheme, the Ekiti State Traffic Management Agency, the Social Security Scheme of the Aged, both in Commercial Agriculture, Local Council Development Areas, Peace Corps and other landmark programmes will come back. “Governor Fayose said he wanted continuity, I know Ekiti won’t subscribe to continuity of poverty, wanton neglect, fraud and pauperisation of our people in the name of governance. “By God’s grace, July 14 is our date with destiny, a day PDP will be totally obliterated, a day that suffering will stop. “We will reclaim our land, it is the day decency, discipline, decorum and good essence of democracy will return to our land.” Against the expectations of many that Tinubu may not grace the mega rally, against the backdrop of the perceived friction between him and Fayemi, the presence of the National Leader of the APC was a big boost to Fayemi’s rising profile ahead of the elections.
