Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, on Tuesday, visited a former governor of the state, Segun Oni, urging him to return to the All Progressives Congress where he was the National Deputy Chairman before he left.
Oni, a former Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, who contested in the June 18, 2022, Ekiti State governorship election on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), challenged the victory of Oyebanji in the election at the Supreme Court.
Speaking, Oyebanji said, “For me, I believe litigation is part of the electoral process and I appreciate His Excellency (Oni) for pursuing the electoral matter up till the apex court and not recourse to self-help.”
The governor, who spoke on the idea of a replica of the Council of States in Ekiti, said, “We have to create that conclave of all former governors irrespective of political parties where we will sit down quarterly and discuss, share ideas, proffer solution and take assignments on behalf of who is governor for us to do nationally.”
Oyebanji said his visit was in fulfilment of his pledge to personally call and visit Oni, who he described as “a brother and leader.”
He told the former governor, “We belong to different political parties, but when it comes to Ekiti development, God has put you as a pathfinder and you are an Ekiti man to the core. You love this state.
“I am pleading with you sir, now that the party you suffered for, where you were deputy national chairman is now in the centre, I am too young to give you a directive but as one of your ardent followers, I want you to consider coming back home.
“The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, needs every good head, every good hand to succeed and he is from this zone of the country and when Segun Oni is not in the basket, the basket is not full.
“I’m pleading with you in the interest of our people, in the interest of Yoruba nation, in the interest of Nigeria.
“Sir, we campaigned on a mantra of prosperity, and you just spoke about it that we need to develop the state to a point where every indigene of this state will be prosperous irrespective of where they find themselves. We can only do that by creating development centres in our local governments and communities.”
Oyebanji, who said that Oni’s tenure remained a reference point in the annals of the state, called on all leaders in positions of authority to make use of the opportunity God has given them in the interest of the people, to use their wealth of experience to develop the state by attracting more goodies from the Federal Government.
Oni, who thanked the governor for the visit, stressed the need to build a virile Ekiti state based on the unity of purpose, saying, “All hands should be on deck to reposition the state by making all communities, development centres to engender true development.
“We must ensure that we do not lead our people into acrimony but lead them into friendship and make politics a lot more pleasant for our people.”
