Posted by Adesina Wahab, Ado-Ekiti on
Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, has said the two senatorial seats of Ekiti South and North are vacant for his ruling Peoples Democratic Party to grab.
Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, has said the two senatorial seats of Ekiti South and North are vacant for his ruling Peoples Democratic Party to grab.
An expanded State Executive Council meeting of the party on Friday evening also endorsed him for another term.
The two seats are currently occupied by Senator Bode Olowoporoku (PDP, Ekiti South) and Senator James Kolawole (Alliance for Democracy is occupying the Ekiti North).
While Olowoporoku is having a running battle with the party, Kolawole is on his second term.
The governor, however, openly declared his support for Clement Awoyelu (Ekiti Central Senatorial District) for another term and said aspirants for the seat should stay away.
At a meeting held in Ado-Ekiti, the group adopted the suggestion by the State Chairman, Mr. Ropo Adesanya, that the governor be given a return ticket to the Government House, Ado-Ekiti.
Adesanya based the decision on the performance of Fayose,which he described as excellent.
However, Fayose who told the gathering that he was yet to make a formal decision on a second term bid, said he was sure that if he did not get a return ticket, somebody from his own group in the party would do.
'It is my right as a Nigerian to seek re-election as enshrined in the constitution of the country. But I have not declared my intention yet, and if I will do that,it will be a grand occasion," he said.
On the high number of governorship aspirants in the PDP, the governor said there was nothing unusual about that.
He stated that there was enough room for all, despite the claims by his opponents that he had hijacked the party and was making it difficult for others to operate.
Some of the aggrieved aspirants recently went to Abuja to lodge a complaint about his alleged antics.
The governor urged the aspirants to go about their ambitions according to the laid down procedures.
The PUNCH, Monday, August 1, 2005