Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has denied betraying Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying presidency is not anyone’s inheritance.
Fayemi said this during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Wednesday.
The Ekiti State governor said he maintained a very good relationship with Tinubu since the days of pro-democracy movement when NEDECO was established.
Fayemi said, “The Asiwaju I know is a democrat. He believes that politics is a marketplace of ideas and people should test their own convictions. it’s good we see such things from the same point of view as democrats. If we don’t then its useful to test those ideas and let Nigerians be the judge, the direction they want the country to go.
“I don’t believe that we should see that as a basis for demonizing anyone and Asiwaju will not subscribe to that. This isn’t an inheritance; it’s about Nigeria and Nigeria is the commonwealth of all Nigerians.
“I have had a very good relationship with Bola Ahmad Tinubu. I went and met him in exile way back to 1994 when he came out after the annulment of the election and the establishment of NADECO.
“I was placed at a significant place which I could give assistant to the leadership that came out of exile at the time. That was the context of my meeting Tinubu. And we maintained a very cordial relationship ever since then.
“When I was asked by Adeniyi Adebayo, the former Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, to run for office in Ekiti, Asiwaju supported me. He was out there for me because of his knowledge of my involvement in pro-democracy movement. We had always worked together. So this is not a personal contest.
“This is about Nigerians and the future of our children and it’s about competing visions of what that future holds for Nigerians. I have the greatest respect for Asiwaju and I will continue to respect him; but I do believe that I have a strong vision on how to reposition Nigeria and build on the legacy of the current president.”
