Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state seems to be on a collision course with his party, the Peoples Democratic Party as he on Wednesday, November 18, disagreeing with his party over the integrity of candidates fielded by the APC for Kogi and Bayelsa states gubernatorial elections.
Olisa Metuh, the mouthpiece of the PDP had earlier in his office accused the APC of presenting candidates facing corruptions charges, stating that his party never presented someone with questionable character for 16-year it was in power, Premium Times reports.
Metuh noted that Fayose case was different which he described as politically motivated.
Commenting further on the credibility of APC candidates, the PDP spokesman said that in saner clime political parties will not present candidates with corruption charges.
“We have never fielded any candidate facing corruption charge as governor,” he said.
“Elsewhere, political parties take exception to fielding people with corruption charges except if politically motivated like in the case of Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state.
“No party has ever fielded corrupt individuals for political offices like the APC,” Metuh said.
He disclosed that his party is already compiling list of all APC governors-elects and candidates that are currently facing corruption charges and would be made the list available to Nigeria.
However, Fayose in a statement took a different turn from his party position saying that Sylva and Audu are qualified to contest the election which is sharp contrast to PDP position.
He added that they remain innocent until they are proven guity.
“I wish to state clearly that Alhaji Abubakar Audu has the right to contest,” Fayose said while dismissing a statement credited to him where he allegedly faulted the eligibility of APC candidates.
Fayose explained that he did not made the statement that Audu’s corruption case in court disqualified hime from contesting adding that the speech he made at the grand finale of the PDP in Lokoja was based on the need for free and fair election.
“That statement that he cannot contest was not made by me. What I said in Lokoja has nothing to do with Alhaji Audu and I am not contesting his eligibility,” he said.
“ Alhaji Audu is my former colleague and I have a lot of respect for him. In law, every man is assumed innocent until proven otherwise by a law court.
“I equally went through a similar experience, I couldn’t have made such comment,” the governor concluded.
In a related development, Governor Fayose had explained why was he was absent during the PDP national conference which was held to rebrand and reposition the main opposition party.
The governor said he was observing three days of fasting and prayers ahead of his 55th birthday that was why he was unavailable for the conference.
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