Former governor of Ekiti State and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ayo Fayose, has declared the February 25 election in which Asiwaju Bola Tinubu emerged as the president-elect as free and fair.
Tinubu is the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the election.
His words: “I am not a member of the APC and will never be a member of the party. I have never hidden my respect for Tinubu. Notwithstanding, I believe that the 2023 presidential election is free and fair and I am entitled to my views.”
Making his position known in a statement he personally signed, Fayose said although the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, was the man of the season, Tinubu won the election.
He described the PDP as too fractured to win the presidential election.
In the statement, the former governor denied reports that he had left the PDP.
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According to him, he only stepped aside to enable him speak truth to power without any fear of bias based on his political leaning.
The statement reads:
“I am still a bonafide member of the PDP. I only said I stepped aside because I need to speak the truth to power without the fear of my view being tainted by party colouration. Resigning from a political party has procedure and same will be followed if I strongly find the need to leave the party.
“It is important that we have somebody that can say the truth without wearing any party toga.
“I am a member of the PDP, I am a member of the PDP NEC, a member of the party caucus, member of the Board of Trustees based on my position as a former chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum. It’s a lifetime membership. But Nigeria is bigger than any party.
“I am not a member of the APC and will never be a member of the party. I have never hidden my respect for Tinubu. Notwithstanding, I believe that the 2023 presidential election is free and fair and I am entitled to my views.
“I am not interested in contesting for any political position again in my life. What am I going to contest for at 62? Even if I want to contest, not under APC. I have said it repeatedly that I can never join APC and I am still saying it now.
“But I need to emphasise that Nigeria needs somebody who will say the truth at this critical period in our history.
“Again, may I conclude here that Peter Obi is the man of the season. Asiwaju won the election, but PDP was too fractured to win an election at federal level. However at the state level, elections are local, please continue to vote and support the PDP, especially in the Governorship and Houses of Assembly elections.”
