5th May, 2022
Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, said his decision to contest for the 2023 presidency is not an act of betrayal to one of his political leaders, Bola Tinubu.
Fayemi stated this on Wednesday in an interview with Channels TV after he officially joined the presidential race.
The interviewer had said: “You will be running against someone who has helped you politically, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, how does that come to you in the first instance?”
Responding Fayemi said, “Let me say that I’ve had a very good relationship with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu whom I met in exile in 1994 when he came out after the annulment of the election and the establishment of NADECO (National Democratic Coalition)…We maintained a very cordial relationship ever since then.
“So, when I was asked by Governor Niyi Adebayo, the current Minister of Trade and Investment, to come and run for office in Ekiti, Asiwaju supported me; he was out there for me because of his knowledge of my involvement in the pro-democracy movement and we’ve worked together on a number of issues.
“This is not a personal contest; this is about Nigeria, the future of our children. It is about competing visions of what that future holds for Nigerians.
“I have the greatest respect for Asiwaju and I will continue to do that but I do believe that I have a strong vision on how to reposition Nigeria and build on the legacies of the current President.”
However, Fayemi was asked again to clarify the claims that he betrayed Tinubu.
Responding, the Governor of Ekiti said, “The Asiwaju that I know is a democrat; he believes that politics is a marketplace of ideas and people should test their own convictions. His (Tinubu’s) courage of conviction is not in doubt and I do not think he will want to stamp on the convictions of others in terms of how Nigerians should go…
“I don’t believe that we should see that as a basis for demonizing anyone and I know that the Asiwaju that I know, that I have interacted with would not subscribe to that. I don’t believe that he will use terminologies like betrayal.
“This is not an inheritance; it is about Nigeria – Nigeria is the commonwealth of all Nigerians. It is not a traditional title that we are seeking, the office we are seeking is to make an improvement for all Nigerians.”
Fayemi added that: “Running for office is not an ambition; I’ve always maintained that it is service, it is sacrifice, it is duty.”
Please watch the interview below: