Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has continued his war of words against some former members of his political union by blaming former vice president Atiku Abubakar, and Senator Aminu Tambuwal for what he described as the destruction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Atiku was the 2023 presidential candidate of the PDP. He was also the candidate of the party in 2019 a few years after rejoining the party from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The former VP is poised to take the ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in a few months ahead of the 2027 general elections. This is despite pressure that he leaves the ticket for young aspirants from the South, which, based on an unwritten rotational agreement, should produce the next president assuming Tinubu is returned unelected.
But Atiku has vowed to contest and has continued to put the machinery toward that in motion.
Meanwhile, some in the PDP, the party Atiku joined the ADC from, have continued to accuse him of destroying the former ruling party before finding political fellowship elsewhere.
Fayose, who’s a political ally of the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, Atiku’s archrival, insists that the sorry state of the PDP should be blamed on Atiku, Tambuwal – twice governor of Sokoto State – and others.
Speaking on Friday night during an interview on Channels Television, Fayose alleged, “Atiku destroyed the PDP, Tambuwal destroyed the PDP, and Ayu destroyed it. Politics is not fair; life itself is not balanced.”
Iyorchia Ayu was PDP’s national chairman, under whose Tinubu Atiku emerged as PDP presidential candidate in controversial circumstances, which eventually led to the formation of G-5 – group of five governors – who opposed Atiku and eventually supported President Bola Tinubu in 2023. It was formed and controlled by Wike.
However, Fayose explained that despite his long-standing membership of the PDP, “Everybody stands where they will be able to say the truth to Nigerians. I am not contesting elections, and I have not asked anybody for favours.”
The former governor stressed, “Openly, I supported Asiwaju Tinubu in 2023, and I didn’t hide it. Till now, I am still there. I didn’t jump. I am not a member of the APC, and I will never be,” Fayose stated.
On the political tension in Rivers State, he said, “I was sitting on the high table the day Governor Fubara was sworn in, and I told Wike that I wanted to say one or two things to Fubara not to betray you.”