The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, has dismissed insinuations of a cold war between him and the Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi.
Adebayo, the first elected governor of the state said he and Fayemi are together and always consult with one another on how Ekiti can be moved forward and how the All Progressives Congress (APC) can retain power to consolidate on the achievements recorded since returning to power in 2018.
Speaking at an enlarged APC stakeholders’ meeting held at the Government House, Ado Ekiti over the weekend, Adebayo also dispelled the rumour making the rounds that he was planning to contest for the governorship seat again in 2022.
He urged all leaders and members of the APC to be as united as a bunch of broom, which is the symbol of the party to ensure it wins the governorship poll scheduled for June 18, 2022, to ensure continuity of progressive policies, programmes and projects in the state.
Adebayo said rather than seek another term in office, he would work with other APC elders, chieftains and members to produce a worthy successor for Fayemi next year which he described as his own “fourth term.”
The ex-governor described Fayemi’s first tenure as his own “second term” and the present tenure as his “third term while an APC victory at the 2022 poll would be his “fourth term.”
Denying any rift with Fayemi, Adebayo said: “Kayode Fayemi and I are one. There is no division between us. We always work together and are in constant consultation on matters relating to politics and governance in the state and nationally.”
Adebayo emphasized the need for continuity and consolidation to ensure that Ekiti is firmly established on the path of long-term development which has been locally and globally acknowledged which he said needed the support of all stakeholders to achieve.
The minister, however, made a case for a generational shift in politics and governance to allow for the greater participation of younger people saying the APC platform offers them a veritable opportunity to participate in governance.
Addressing the gathering, Fayemi cautioned party members against divisive tendencies saying the party needs unity of purpose to achieve victory at the poll next year.
Describing the APC as one, the governor counselled party members to stop promoting the personal agenda of some leaders but work for the corporate agenda to make the party attractive to the electorate which will help secure victory at future elections.
He said intraparty caucuses going by various names like “JKF Tokan-Tokan”, “Adebayo Original,” among others should not be promoted again, saying “there is only one APC structure in the state.”
The governor further admonished party members to go back to the grassroots and be more inclusive and participatory in politics across the state tasking them to also “eschew greed and the imposition of the will of a few over the majority.”
Other speakers at the meeting were unified in their call for all party members to close ranks and work towards ensuring a crisis-free party congress that would pave the way for strong and resilient party machinery at the wards, local governments, and state levels.
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