Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has disclosed his ambition to become Nigerian president, The Guardian reports.
Fayose, who is the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, was not specific on when he will contest for the office of president. “It is according to God’s will that I will one day become the president of Nigeria,” he said.
Although Fayose did not give a timeline for the realisation of his presidential ambition, his declaration will influence the politics of the 2019 presidency. His interventions in his political party and issues affecting the entire country may now be linked to his presidential ambition as he is one of the most vocal members of the opposition .
The governor, who spoke on Saturday in Ado Ekiti while hosting journalists to a dinner, said since the prophesy was from God and it was very clear that he would govern the country, the issue needed not to be debated as he was only waiting for its manifestation.
“Do not bother to ask me questions as to how this will materialise, I also do not know how it will happen but all I know is that I shall one day occupy the presidential villa, not as a visitor but as president,” Fayose said.
He claimed to be in the good book of most Nigerians, whom he said would always be ready to make God’s plans for him come to pass at the appointed time. Fayose told his guests at the dinner that he would use his position as chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum to correct many ills of the society as well as fight the cause of the poor masses.
He disclosed to the gathering that the anti-graft body, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had again frozen his personal accounts in Zenith Bank in defiance of a court order made last month.
He said he was at the bank’s branch in Ado-Ekiti on Friday to withdraw money in line with a subsisting court order but was prevented from making any withdrawal from the account.
While appreciating journalists for their effective coverage of the Ekiti State, he advised them not to allow themselves to be drawn into politics.Doing so, he noted, would impugn on their integrity and make them inherit other people’s enemies.
The governor also called on Nigerians to pray for their leaders and support them, no matter the situation.The Lagos State chapter of the PDP declined comment on Fayose’s presidential ambition. The chapter’s spokesman, Mr. Taofik Gani said: “I don’t have any comment on that.” When also asked for reaction, the PDP spokesman in the South West zone, Dapo Adeyeye declined to comment.
However, a member of the party’s Board of Trustees and former Minister of Transportation, Chief Ebenezer Babatope said it had never come to his knowledge that the PDP was backing anybody to run for the presidency or that anybody could become the president of the country through prophesy. “But Fayose is free to say whatever he likes. This is democracy and anybody is free to express his desire,” he said.
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