Fayemi did not have foot soldiers

By Reliable Click

Senator Ayo Arise, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart, in this interview with SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, ROTIMI AKINWUMI, enumerates reasons why the governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) lost the election to the candidate of the PDP in the recently contested governorship in Ekiti State. He also spoke on what the cabinet of the incoming government of Fayose might look like. Excerpts…

What, in your view, accounted for Fayose’s landslide victory?

Oh! Fayose won this election a long time ago. It was only the incumbent and his supporters that did not realise that. I was so sure and so

Senator Ayo Arise

precise I had made it clear before that Fayemi was going to lose so badly that he would also lose his Local Government Area; his Local Government of Oye where I happen to come from. And I also predicted that in respect of the wards, and it came to pass that the governor lost his Ward,  including his home town of Isan. What happened is that Ekiti people voted for the man that was so loved by the grassroots people, Ayo Fayose, now the Governor-elect. Of course, our efforts as leaders in our respective communities complimented the popularity of the candidate. I have never seen anything like that even though I Knew I was going to deliver Oye Local government from the onset. The governor has never demonstrated the capacity to be able to defeat me there. And that is supposed to be his strongest base. So that gave me the courage to be able to predict the landslide victory for Fayose. And moreso, Fayemi is not really a politician per se. And what interest the people is indeed very different from the interest of his government. So, Ekiti people expressed their wish very loud and clear that this is the best election to be held anywhere in the country. I am happy that Fayemi came out to borrow a leaf from what I did when I lost an election to the Senate in 2011. So I was excited when Fayemi did the same thing by congratulating Fayose. Of course, mine did not attract so much attention because it was not a governorship election. But it was the first example of the demonstration of good sportsmanship. That is the way we expect politics to be played in this country. It demonstrated clearly the qualities of an Ekiti man.

What role do you think the conduct of the governorship primary election play in the victory of PDP?

Yes, the party allowed people to express their wishes through the primaries. Earlier, before the primary election, people canvassed for consensus including myself. But the moment Fayose won that primary election, I called him and I told him that you know I promised you that if you win that primary election, I would support you. So I did. And, of course, my mentor, the Senate President, spoke to me and I listened to him. When people started calling me to say Oooooh! You are supporting Fayose, I said, ‘look, this is the reality. Fayose is the man on ground! So, why should I be standing against the will of the people when anytime I go to them, they will still be the one to decide my fate.’ In politics, it is people that vote. It is not the certificates. And Ekiti people have spoken and they have spoken well.

With the coming to power of PDP in Ekiti State, what do you make of the future of the APC in the South West?

Yes! We have put a very big hole in their pocket. They have about four more States now in the South West. I can comfortably say that at least we will take three more. That is the very minimum we will take. That is if we do not take all. We are constantly receiving requests for changes in the governance of virtually all the States in the South West. Tinubu and his party have ruled for about 16 years. The people are now saying that it is about time we moved to test new hands. I know that if we get our candidates right in the PDP, we will probably take Lagos State.

But your critics believe that Ekiti was an exception because the experience would not be repeated in any other South West State.

That is not the point at all. If I had spoken with you two weeks before the election, you would have said PDP would not win in Ekiti State. We are the ones on ground. We are always with the people. We are the ones working. The point must be understood that yes, people love Fayose. But if he did not have some people around that he could entrust with the message to the people, he might have some problems. Now, men of Fayemi who were supposed to be playing well on the ground, they were not there.  And that can happen to anybody. If he has this opportunity again in the future, perhaps he may make amends. This one has gone for good. We are from the same local government area. And as we speak now, Fayemi has never stepped into my house. And he has to pass through my house to go to his village. All his henchmen in the wards where he won, had come to me. The fact that Fayemi is in APC and I am in PDP is not supposed to be a problem. Fayose  will never make this mistake. Let it be clear that Fayose is a master strategist. He would call you; he would greet you, he would do all manner of things. If I were to nominate people for positions – let’s   say there is a vacancy in the United Nations and another vacancy in the governorship of Ekiti State – I will take Fayemi to the United Nations and I will give Fayose the governorship of Ekiti, because Fayose is the person that understands the language of the people. Fayemi can go and speak English on our behalf in the UN.

What are those things that the out-going governor failed to do right that the governor-elect will need to take care of?

Oh! Fayose has enumerated those things. One of them is that he would open the gate of the Government House in Ado-Ekiti for all. And that people will be coming in to eat. So, for me, I cannot think along those lines. But that is what he wants to do. Even though I also open the gate of my house to people, but the Government House is a different thing altogether. Even if he is not going to be attacked by anybody, he might suffer too much distraction.

But Fayose said there would be no room for technocrats in his cabinet, what do you make of that?

On that, I discussed with him to let him understand that there may be a need to amend it a little, because there are politicians who are technocrats that could be considered. A lawyer is a technocrat. When he is going to appoint a commissioner of Health, he is not going to pick somebody who studied Yoruba. He must pick a doctor who is a politician. So, there are many technocrats in the political terrain. But what he was actually saying was that he would not pick somebody who did not know how his election was made possible into his cabinet.

What do you think will be the fate of some APC chieftains in Ekiti that would want to defect to PDP to get one position or the other?

Let me say what the governor-elect has told me. He is going to allow for a free and fair election because that is the process that guaranteed what happened in Ekiti election. He has re-iterated that several times. And my belief is that if somebody decamps and he meets the party’s conditionalities, that is okay. The constitution of the party says one has to be a member of the party for at least two years to be qualified to be elected. But in exceptional cases, waivers are granted. And in the event that such person is able to get a waiver, he still has to demonstrate that he has sufficient grassroots support that he can defeat an incumbent. I am sure the governor-elect will handle it in the most appropriate manner. But I do not think the people in the PDP who worked day and night would want to go for a person who is just coming into the party. But don’t forget that I crossed over from AD, ACN to PDP to become a Senator under PDP because PDP realized that I had support from the grassroots.