“Ekiti koya” mantra is a referendum on Fayose, Fayemi’s administrations, says Segun Oni

A former governor of Ekiti State and governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, in the June 18 poll in the state, Asiwaju Segun Oni, said the mantra of “Ekiti Koya” (Ekiti people reject suffering) being chanted by the people was a referendum on the administrations of Mr Ayo Fayose and Dr Kayode Fayemi.

Fayose had been governor of Ekiti State for eight years while Fayemi is rounding off his second term this year, to pave the way for the winner of the June 18 governorship election in the state to step in the saddle.

Speaking on Sunday morning on ARISE TV interview programme anchored by Steve Ayorinde, which was monitored by THE CONCLAVE, Oni stated that rather than speak on the performances of Fayose and Fayemi, the assessment should be left to the people of Ekiti to do.

He said that the truth was that the people were already assessing them, stressing; “Go to Ekiti today and see for yourselves: the assessment by the people is going on. Our people are not keeping quiet.”

Oni said that the people had tasted his three-year administration before he was removed from office by the Ilorin Court of Appeal verdict and the cumulative 16 years administration of Fayose and Fayemi and “they now know which administration was better than another.”

He said, for instance, that when he was in the saddle as governor, Ekiti was not financially buoyant than as it was now, but pointed out that his administration was prudent and visionary in the management of public finance.

Oni stated that his administration was able to take education up from the 34th position that it was in the nnational ranking to 8th position by 2009. The court of appeal removed him from office in 2010 and truncated the good works he was doing.

He described himself as an unconventional governor who had been in the saddle before, stressing that the people knew what he did.

Read him: “I have been there before and the people know what I did. I was an unconventional governor. I provided road infrastructure and I also provided water to a level that surpassed what the other admistrations had done.

“Life was more tolerable for the people under my administration. Employment was better and the local economy was also better. I ran a government that made people look at life with hope until 2010 when I was removed. I left quietly. The people had the opportunity of tasting two other governors and they now know the difference.”

Oni said, in response to a question about what he would do if the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared a result that was not favourable to him, that the Commission would count the votes and announce the results collated at the polling booths.

He said it was not in the place of INEC to declare any result that did not reflect the voting realities, adding “INEC will not go the other way if it is going to be about free and fair election.”

The former governor, whose candidature has positively excited the Ekiti polity due to his excellent pro-people policies, projects and programmes in his aborted first term (from 2007 to 2010), said he was in the race in response to the people’s call.

According to him: “I am doing this to offer service to Ekiti people; otherwise, I would have taken the offer by the PDP to be National chairman before they went for Iyorchia Ayu. I told the governors who reached out to me that my interest was to offer development service to my people in Ekiti and that I was a supporter of Olagunsoye Oyinlola for the position of national chairman.

“I also pointed out then that the PDP needed to win in Ekiti and Osun states’ off-season governorship elections, especially in Ekiti to trigger victory for the party in 2023.”

He said that unfortunately, his former party, the PDP instead of settling for him as the candidate with a pedigree of achievements in government that people were relating with, decided to shoot itself in the foot.

The former governor reviewed his electioneering so far and concluded that “it is very clear to us that we had not worked in vain with what we are seeing in Ekiti.”

Commenting on the assassination attempt on hisife at an SDP meeting in Efon Alaye, Oni thanked God gor his safety.

According to him: “I am safe now. I see the attack in two ways. First, negative in that it is a sign of intolerance in politics is still there; and, second, positively, in that it must mean that we are exactly where we viewed we are in the eyes of our assessors and opponents.”

He, however, urged law enforcement agencies to be up and doing in their job of protecting the citizens.

Oni said that the option of anarchy was not there, adding that “the Police should do what they should do to protect us.”

He, however, pointed the finger of guilt at the APC elements working in collusion probably with the PDP for the attack on him and his SDP leaders and members at a meeting recently in Efon Alaye.