Fayemi Denies Rejecting Consensus Agreement, Buhari’s Directive

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has denied rejecting the decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors on the consensus candidacy.

Recall that the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Atiku Bagudu, had on Wednesday said the APC governors will support President Muhammadu Buhari’s choice of chairmanship candidate.

It was learned that the President had endorsed the former governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, as the consensus candidate for the APC chairmanship position.

However, Fayemi while speaking at a high-level policy dialogue organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), on Thursday, was said to have rejected candidates endorsed by the president.

But in a statement by Yinka Oyebode, his media aide, Fayemi refuted reports claiming that he rejected the decision of his colleagues on the consensus candidacy.

The governor added that he was misrepresented, adding that his presentation at the event was about democracy in West Africa and not about his party convention.

He said: “The general public is hereby notified that a news story in circulation with the above headline is a misrepresentation of the views of the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi.

“Dr Fayemi at a policy dialogue organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Abuja on Thursday, was quoted as rejecting the consensus arrangement President Muhammadu Buhari reached with the Governors ahead of the party’s convention.

“It must be stated, however, that Governor Fayemi’s presentation at the event was about democracy in West Africa and democratic reversal in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso and not about his party convention.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Fayemi in response to a question from the audience accusing the President of imposing a Chairman on the party at the forthcoming convention, stated that the President’s priority was the unity of the party and he didn’t know about the President endorsing any candidate for Chairman. But that if indeed the President has expressed such a view, the President that he knows is a democrat and those who do not share the view may of course contest.

“Governor Fayemi is well known as a leader not given to frivolous and distracting talk.”