Gov. Makinde Promised Never To Work Against Tinubu– Fayose

Former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, has alleged that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state previously assured him that he would never allow himself to be used against President Bola Tinubu because both of them are Yoruba.

The former governor stated this while featuring on TVC’s Politics Tonight, where he reflected on the crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the activities of the G-5 governors ahead of the 2023 presidential election and the political developments surrounding the 2027 elections.

Fayose said the Oyo governor contributed significantly to the crisis that has engulfed the PDP, accusing him of allowing political ambition to influence his decisions

According to Fayose, the five governors who formed the G-5 bloc had initially worked together within the PDP, but internal disagreements eventually contributed to the party’s poor showing in the 2023 elections.

“Makinde caused these problems, even losing out in the PDP, he caused it. We all filed under the G-5 to contest the 2023 election. The question Nigerians should ask us is: what went wrong under the G-5?” Fayose said.

He added that the political ambitions of some members of the group had complicated the situation.

“Why is Makinde here? Why is Wike here? It’s very obvious that when you have inordinate ambition, you will have problems,” he said.

Fayose recalled that Makinde once contacted him after a campaign flyer promoting the Oyo governor for the presidency surfaced.

He said Makinde dismissed those promoting the idea and assured him that, if he decided to contest for the presidency, he would personally make his intention known.

“Governor Makinde called me when I saw a flyer on TV where they were promoting him as Makinde for President. I forwarded that to him and he called me back immediately,” Fayose said.

“He told me that if he wanted to contest, he would say it himself and he would not be the Yoruba man who would be used against another Yoruba man like Asiwaju. God is my witness, and let him deny it.”

Fayose further alleged that Makinde took control of the PDP structure in Ekiti State from him, prompting him to withdraw from the party’s internal affairs.

“Makinde took the whole structure of PDP from me and gave it to some characters that I don’t want to talk about, so I left the carcass of the party for him,” he said.

Fayose also explained his decision to remain in Osogbo throughout the August 15 Osun State governorship election, saying he wanted to interact with residents and assess the mood of voters before the poll.

He said his visits to markets and communities across the state gave him an opportunity to hear directly from voters and understand the dynamics of the contest.

“I was in Osogbo firstly to have information about how that election was going to go with the ordinary folks. I was in a number of market communities. I was in Ilesa. I was in a couple of communities, and I listened to them,” Fayose said.

According to him, the closeness of the race made it difficult to confidently predict the winner before the votes were counted.

“When you have an election that is 52, 48, it could go either way,” he said, stressing that the result could only be determined after the actual voting.

Fayose, however, condemned the violence, killings and desperation that characterised parts of the election.

“What greeted the election towards the end was unfortunate violence, desperation, and killings that were mostly unnecessary,” he said.

The former governor urged political actors to look beyond the winner and loser and examine the voting patterns and political dynamics that shaped the outcome.

He said Governor Ademola Adeleke’s victory margin was significantly boosted by votes from Ede, which he described as the stronghold of the Adeleke family.

“That election was won by 66,000 votes. 46 of that 40, of the 66,000 votes came from Ede, which is the stronghold of the Adelekes,” Fayose said.

He said the result from Ede was not unexpected given the longstanding support enjoyed by the Adeleke family in the area.

Fayose congratulated Adeleke on his victory but urged him and his supporters to demonstrate magnanimity by pursuing reconciliation with political opponents and other stakeholders across the state.

“Be magnanimous in victory. The language now must be right. Reconciliation must be total. Not with the Accord alone, but with all other stakeholders,” he said.

Fayose also weighed in on allegations that the Federal Government intended to influence the outcome of the Osun election.

He argued that if a federal government genuinely decided to manipulate an election, such an effort would be difficult to prevent, based on his experience of previous elections.

“If the federal government wants to take an election, they will take it. If the federal government, the ones I know of the past, if they want to take an election, there’s nothing you can do,” he said.

His comments followed Adeleke’s victory in the August 15 governorship election, in which the incumbent defeated his closest contender, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to secure another term in office.