Ekiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has chided the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, for mocking the immediate-past Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, by what it called his politically motivated trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a statement on Saturday, by the state’s Publicity Secretary of the party, Raphael Adeyanju, the Ekiti State PDP advised the Oyo State governor to display maturity expected from somebody occupying his exalted office and rise above childishness and pettiness.
The party said: ”It is rather unfortunate that someone like Governor Makinde, who was never a stable member of the PDP could use EFCC trial to mock Fayose, who was one of the last men standing for the party after it lost power in 2015.
We would have ignored his display of political childishness and pettiness, but by choosing to go gutter with his mockery of Fayose, who is only being persecuted for standing firmly by the PDP in its hours of troubles, Engr Seyi Makinde has shown to the public that one can be a governor and still not be a leader.
”The Ekiti state PDP while, claiming that it is not written in the party constitution that when a zone has only one governor, that governor automatically becomes the leader of the party challenged, Makinde to swear that two All Progressives Congress (APC) governors in the South-West did not support his election.
The party also alleged that a certain Ayo Adegbite, an aide of one of the governors brought cash to Ibadan in a government vehicle for him (Makinde), was intercepted by soldiers.
The Ekiti State PDP spokesman also regretted that the Oyo State governor is the one sponsoring lawsuits against duly constituted organs of the PDP in both Ekiti and Osun States as a payback for the support he got from one of the governors.
Adeyanju said: “As at 2015 that PDP lost power, Makinde was in Social Democratic Party (SDP). If committed leaders like Fayose, who stood by the party had left for other parties as he (Makinde) did, the governorship ticket of the PDP wouldn’t have been attractive to him when he returned to the party in 2018.”
“That Governor Makinde now goes about mocking Fayose because of his trial by the EFCC, occasioned by his uncompromising stance against the misrule of the APC government shows that he (Makinde) is happy that Fayose and other leaders of the PDP are being persecuted with EFCC trials by the APC government.”
“Isn’t it even instructive that the governor has failed in all the national assignments he undertook for the party? Is this not a sign that he has never been truly committed to the PDP?”
The party counselled the governor to address the crisis in Oyo State PDP, rather than acting like a man who is running after cockroaches in another person’s house while his own house is infested with termites.
The Ekiti State PDP pointed out that “if there is a State where urgent reconciliation is needed among PDP leaders, it is Oyo State where even the Deputy Governor, Rauf Olaniyan is complaining openly against the governor.”
“That someone is a governor does not translate to leadership. And by descending to the childish arena of mocking Fayose, who exhibited the rare courage and boldness of surrendering himself to the EFCC, it shows that those PDP leaders in Oyo State who have rejected his leadership were right after all.
“We will, however, wait till he finishes his tenure and sees whether he will also be bold enough like Fayose, to report himself to be investigated by the anti-corruption agencies should he be invited for questioning.”
