Indication has emerged that the outgoing Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, may dump the Peoples Democratic Party for the Labour Party, reportedly owing to the failure of his Sokoto State counterpart, Governor Aminu Tambuwal, to emerge as the presidential candidate of the main opposition party.
It was learnt that Fayose might have also indicated interest in realising his presidential ambition on the platform of the LP in the 2019 presidential election.
Fayose had recently threatened to leave the PDP, following Tambuwal’s failure to win the party’s presidential primary.
Speaking in an interview in Abeokuta, the LP State Chairman, Comrade Abayomi Arabambi, said that Fayose had shown interest in contesting for the presidency on the platform of the party.
Fayose is welcome. He didn’t tell us that it was because of Tambuwal
Arabambi, who noted that Fayose did not tell the leadership of the party that he wanted to dump the PDP because Tambuwal did not emerge as the presidential candidate of PDP, said that the Ekiti governor wanted to join LP because he felt he lacked the necessary support in the PDP.
The LP state chairman, however, maintained that Fayose would not be given an automatic ticket to run for the highest office in Nigeria on the platform of the party, noting that the governor still needed to adhere to the provisions of the party’s constitution before using its platform to realise his presidential ambition.
Arabambi, who said that the LP National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulsalam Abdulkadir, told members of the party at its National Executive Committee meeting that Fayose had indicated interest to contest presidency on its platform, urged the governor not to use the party as an avenue to ventilate his anger against the PDP.
He said, “Actually, we were duly informed yesterday that Fayose wanted to come out and pick our presidential ticket. We discussed with the national chairman. Don’t forget that Fayose was once in Labour Party and used it to run for Senate. He left the party back to the PDP, but we told them at NEC yesterday that for anybody who wants to join us, there should be an understanding that the candidate will respect our constitution. We don’t want people to think Labour Party is a dumping ground for them to come and ventilate their anger against their former party.”
Meanwhile, the former governor left Ekiti State on Sunday afternoon as his tenure ends midnight of Monday, 15th October, 2018.
Promising the people of Ekiti that he would always be with them, he was also reported to have urged them to trust in God for a better future for him and the state.
He stated this during a thanksgiving held in his honour at the Government House Chapel.
Many of the residents were reportedly shedding tears while lining up the streets to bid him farewell on his way to the Akure Airport, Ondo State.
