Oyebanji: Fayose Destroyed PDP, Now Trying To Invade APC – Ex-LG Boss Cries Out

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State and former Chairman of Ikere Local Government, Femi Ayodele, has claimed that former governor Ayodele Fayose has over 170 of his loyalists appointed into the government of Governor Biodun Oyebanji.

Speaking via a statement on Thursday, he raised concerns over the alleged growing influence of Fayose in Oyebanji’s administration.

Ayodele questioned why Fayose, who he said had lost relevance in the PDP, should now be celebrated within the APC at the expense of genuine party members who worked for the party’s victory.

He said, “As at the last count, apart from the patronage he enjoys from the present government, Fayose had over 170 appointees in the present APC government, while many party members who toiled day and night for the success of the present administration are suffering from neglect.

“Is that fair? So what’s Jide Awe talking about?”

The former council boss was reacting to remarks credited to a former Ekiti APC chairman, Jide Awe, who had criticised ex-governor Kayode Fayemi for cautioning against PDP’s infiltration into Ekiti APC.

Fayemi had recently warned that the influx of PDP elements into the ruling party amounted to an “all-comers” arrangement.

But Awe, in defence of Oyebanji’s open-door style, faulted Fayemi’s position, saying politics was about numbers.

Ayodele, however, said Awe’s attack on Fayemi was “misplaced, malicious, unfortunate and opportunist,” insisting that the former governor was right to raise alarm over PDP’s influence.

He accused Awe of aligning with Fayose out of “politics of convenience,” adding that it was ironic for him to now defend a man who once forced him into political exile.

“Why would the PDP, led by former Governor Ayo Fayose, who destroyed their own party and left it in disarray, invade and attempt to take over and damage the APC and expect leaders like Fayemi to keep quiet? Fayemi should be commended for speaking the minds of thousands of genuine APC members who are deprived rather than being insulted by someone who is a political liability,” Ayodele said.

The APC chieftain maintained that Oyebanji’s election victory in 2022 was secured through Fayemi’s political machinery, not through Fayose, and warned that rewarding the ex-PDP governor with patronage risked alienating loyal APC members.

The former council boss questioned the legitimacy of celebrating Fayose in the APC.

Ayodele also dismissed the argument that “we need everybody in politics.”

According to him, “The philosophy of ‘iru wa, ogiri wa’ is not an excuse to push aside genuine party members and allow strangers and political almajiris take over our party. Biodun Oyebanji won his election with a landslide in 2022 with the powerful machinery of Fayemi, against Fayose’s candidate, who now calls the shots in the APC.”

He added: “Would Fayose have romanced Oyebanji if the PDP were in power? The answer is no. Would he have romanced him if Oyebanji had not become governor? No. Fayose was governor between 2014 and 2018, and this same Jide Awe was sent on exile for three years, Fayemi was banned by Fayose from holding office for 10 years until the courts quashed it, APC House of Assembly members were driven out of town, other APC members were tormented and harassed, yet today, Fayose has over 170 appointees in Oyebanji’s government.