Fayemi Asks Opponents, Ekiti People To Rally Round Oyebanji

A former governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has congratulated Governor Biodun Oyebanji on his re-election and appealed to his rivals and the people of Ekiti State to give him their maximum support.

He described Oyebanji ‘s victory as a clear endorsement of his administration’s performance by the people of the state.

The one-time chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), in a statement he issued yesterday through the Fayemi Media Office, said the outcome of Saturday’s governorship election, in which Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) swept all the state’s 16 local government areas, was a resounding vote of confidence that reflected the high regard in which people hold his leadership.

He said, “I join other well-meaning Ekiti citizens and friends of our dear state in congratulating Governor Biodun Oyebanji on his decisive re-election. This victory is a powerful statement by our people that they recognise and appreciate purposeful governance.

‘’I commend the people of Ekiti for coming out, once again, to exercise their civic responsibility peacefully,” Fayemi said.

He commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies for the largely peaceful conduct of the election, and urged the governor not to relent in consolidating the gains already recorded in his first term, particularly in infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, and human capital development.

Fayemi also reached out to the candidates who contested the election, including those of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and other political parties, urging them to see the election outcome as the verdict of the people.

“Elections are contests, not wars. I urge the other candidates who contested this election to take the lessons from it in good faith and join hands with Governor Oyebanji in the task of building our state.

‘’Ekiti is bigger than any one of us, and it is only by working together, across party lines, that we can give our people the development they deserve and which they have consistently asked for at the polls,” he stated.

The former governor further called on all Ekiti people, irrespective of political affiliation, ethnic or religious leaning, to rally round Governor Oyebanji and support his administration in the new term, stressing that the unity and cooperation of the people remain indispensable to the state’s progress.

“Our state has always thrived when we set aside our political differences and worked together for the common good. I therefore call on all Ekiti sons and daughters, at home and in the diaspora, to continue to support Governor Oyebanji and his administration as he begins this new term, so that together we can sustain the legacy of good governance that our people have come to expect of Ekiti Kete,” Fayemi added.