2014 Elections: Ekiti PDP seeks Fayose’s return

Posted by admin Ekiti, State News Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

In order to prepare well and ensure victory in the 2014 gubernatorial election the Ekiti State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, are already making desperate efforts to bring back into the party former Governor Ayodele Fayose and other old members who had dumped the party earlier.

Speaking to Daily Sun on phone yesterday, the PDP Vice Chairman, Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Mr. Dipo Anisulowo, said the party was presently on the mobilisation stage of its strategic plan towards bringing back its aggrieved members into the party.

Fayose, a former leader of the PDP in Ekiti who was impeached as the state governor in 2006 in a controversial circumstance was the senatorial candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for Ekiti Central Senatorial District in the last April elections.
Anisulowo, in a telephone conversation, revealed that the party was already making inroad into the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and other political parties as a way of strengthening the PDP rank ahead of the future elections.

He disclosed that the party had been meeting other stakeholders in the state, wooing PDP defectors back into the party, so that they could have a formidable team in the state.
His words: “We are mobilising for our party and this is in the best interest of the PDP. We are not limiting our peace talk to only Fayose, we are meeting with other defectors and stakeholders and those with the interest of Ekiti at heart.”

It was gathered that the party had earlier held a meeting convened by Chief Paul Alabi at Ijesa-Isu two weeks ago with some party stalwarts like Chief Dayo Okondu, Chief Femi Bamisile, former PDP chairman, Chief Ropo Adesanya, among others in attendance.
But the meeting was said to be inconclusive because the party was finding it difficult to persuade former governor Olusegun Oni to be ready to work with Fayose, if the latter was brought back into the party.

Efforts to speak with Oni on phone on this proved abortive as his phone was picked by a female whose voice sounded like that of his wife who simply said “hello! Who is it?” And on hearing that it was a journalist, switched off the phone.
Another meeting was said to have been held last week where it was concluded that they must quickly bring back Fayose if the party must make progress.

His popularity in the state, which came to the fore during the burial ceremony of the mother of Mr. Olusegun Oni on July 28, where a lot of people were hailing him immediately they heard of his presence might have, among other factors, informed this latest development.
It was gathered that the party reviewed the positive contributions and leadership qualities of Dr Ayodele Fayose and concluded that if Fayose reconsidered his stand and joined the party, the PDP would surely move forward.

However, it would be recalled that Fayose had attempted to stage a come back in 2007, to re-contest the governorship election under the platform of the PDP but the party had opted for Oni
to avoid loosing the governorship election.

That development had led Fayose into teaming up with the then opposition party, the ACN, to get the state out of the grip of the PDP, with the hope of getting ACN support in his future aspiration.
But when it was glaring to him that he will not be able to secure the 2011 senatorial election ticket of the ACN, which his government had allegedly dealt with leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2004 during the burial ceremony of the mother of Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele, he quickly joined the Labour Party.
Oni on the other hand, who had secured the second term ticket of the party for the 2011 election before was removed late last year might have been nursing re-contesting the 2014 governorship election.END

-Sunwp_posts