Fayose Reveals Why He Attacks Buhari, Denies Aspiring For Presidency In 2019
The Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose has revealed that his relentless criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari flowed from his sense of responsibility as the most senior governor in the country and not related to purported aspiration to run for Presidency in 2019. This was as he noted that he would be celebrated every day if he were to be a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Fayose, who bared his mind at an interactive forum in Lagos on Sunday, stressed that tying him with the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Ali Sheriff, for the 2019 presidential ticket was an attempt to discredit him, insisting that even if the former Borno Governor was to run for the 2019 presidential election, he won't support him.
Noting that President Muhammadu Buhari is presently bogged down by age, he urged those canvassing for a second term for Buhari to have a rethink as he would have become too old to preside over the affairs of the nation in 2019.
While dismissing assertions of a 2019 presidential aspiration, Fayose said: “Anybody flying the kite of Sheriff and Fayose is the deceit of the highest order. Again, even if it is the Senate, I am not going to contest. Nobody contests the office of the Vice President you can only become the Vice President of Nigeria if God wants you to be. May I make it expressly clear that if Ali Modu Sheriff wants to contest as president of Nigeria in 2019, I will not support him, I am a man known for my words of honour. We must operate based on principle if our country is to move forward.”
He further faulted the move by describing it as a “cheap blackmail orchestrated to give people the impression that I have ambition that is why I am doing all these. I am the most senior governor in Nigeria and if I were to be in a party like the APC, they will be celebrating me every day. They (APC) know I am critical of the bad policies of the APC administration.”
Frowning at ongoing efforts to position the President for a second term in 2019, the Governor said: “those promoting Buhari for 2019 should stop. I have told Nigerians that Buhari does not have the capacity now to govern Nigeria. What capacity will he display in seven years time? Currently as it stands, the President is challenged by age.”