‘Nigeria hasn’t changed since 1979’
A mild drama played out Thursday when former governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayo Fayose went on the offensive during a live television interview confronting Rufai for breaking traffic rules and confronting police officials when he was flagged.
Fayose was earlier accused by Arise News Anchor, Rufai Oseni, of being heard in a secret recording in 2014 hatching an election rigging plot.
Rufai made the claim after Fayose finished praising the election that produced the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the President-elect.
The ex-governor had dismissed the allegations about the malpractices that marred the presidential poll, insisting that it was one of the most credible exercise in the nation’s history.
Rufai, in a prelude to his question to Fayose, claimed that the former Ekiti Governor was secretly recorded in 2014 hatching a rigging plot when he was the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Reacting swiftly, Fayose dismissed his claims, further confronting Rufai for breaking traffic rules and confronting police officers when he was flagged for using the Lagos BRT Ianes.
“That shows that you, as a journalist and public analyst, who is supposed to live above board, are not really living above board. And he that must come to equity must have clean hands,” the ex-governor rebutted.
Meanwhile, Fayose has declared that nothing has changed in Nigeria since 1979 following the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.
He said this while fielding questions from journalists on Arise Television’s Morning Show.
The two-term Ekiti governor said there is a lot wrong with Nigeria, and blamed the majority of issues plaguing the country on stakeholders and politicians.
Recall that the All Progressives Congress, APC’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently won the 2023 presidential election, beating close rivals Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s Peter Obi.
Atiku and Obi have since headed to the courts to challenge the victory of Tinubu.
But Fayose said that nothing was wrong with the election, insisting that the system of governance in the country was facing foundational issues.
He said, “There is a lot wrong with Nigeria. Since 1979 nothing has changed. I blamed the majority of the problem on stakeholders and politicians.
“When you asked Buhari in 2015 if you lose the election, would you concede defeat, he said I would win. He never conceived he would lose.
“I told you the senators, House of Rep members are returning to the House of Assembly. The system is sick. Nobody is protecting it. INEC is just one party to the parties of this whole issue on ground.
“INEC does not carry guns; does not have powers to do certain things other than ensure the free and fair election in the country. The police and military are to blame and largely the politicians.”
“Rather than blaming INEC, we need to draw a red line like the army. Nothing was wrong in the election.”
On his support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu, Fayose said he has done nothing wrong, adding that it was a corporate decision of the G5 Governors to support a southern candidate since the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) refused to honour the power rotation agreement that should have given its 2023 presidential ticket to a southerner.
