I Didn’t Oppose Buhari On Consensus, Says Fayemi

The Governor of Ekiti State and Chairman, Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has debunked the claim that he was opposed to President Muhammadu Buhari on the choice consensus to elect All Progressives Congress (APC) national and zonal officers.

Fayemi vehemently rejected the rumour, saying at no time did he describe consensus mulled by the President as undemocratic as being bandied around.

Fayemi at a policy dialogue organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Abuja on Thursday, was quoted to have rejected the consensus option for APC convention while answering questions posed by partakers.

But a statement by Fayemi and signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, yesterday, branded his painted opposition to consensus as a misrepresentation of fact and all he said at the event.

The statement 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.

“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.”

Shedding more light on how the issue came to the fore, Fayemi stated that: “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 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.”