Fayemi: Election Was Free And Fair, Too Late To Abort

By The Citizen

GOVERNOR Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State said what happened was a misjudgment of the capacity of Governor Godswill Akpabio, whom some thought has the magic wand to do and undo. He said it is not true that the Forum resolved to rotate its chairmanship between the North and South as what obtains is a two-year tenure that is renewable ones, just as Bukola Saraki did four years.

He said: 'our role in the opposition camp is very clear and consistent, that this is the Governors' Forum and not the Forum of Governors for the President. We do not want the President to decide for us who is to be our chairman. You cannot talk about democracy without a strong alternative voice. We hope it will also be seen in the light that those who want their words to be law do not mean well for this democracy. What happened is not a vote for Amaechi, it is not an endorsement for him. But it is a vote for the Governors' Forum and it should not be misconstrued as an affront to the President. We respect him and we want to work with him, but for us, there is a time for politics and a time for governance.'

Fayemi explained that though the Forum was used to selecting its chairman through a consensus arrangement, this time around the Forum was polarised and the only way to resolve it was through an election.

He explained that 35 governors were in attendance, with the exception of Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam and the voting was free and fair, even though somebody tried to snatch the ballot. According to him, the baby was delivered alive and it is no longer possible to abort it.