Niyi Adebayo, former governor of Ekiti state and minister of trade and investment, has made a case for a generational shift in politics and governance.
He made the call at the Ekiti APC stakeholders meeting held on Friday July 2, 2021, in the state capital.
Adebayo, who became governor at the age of 41, jokingly said at his age, fatigue sometimes sets in because of the grueling long hours of meetings and travels associated with politics and governance.
He said that was why he secured confidence in his younger successor, Kayode Fayemi, managing the party structure in the state, in close consultation with him.
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The minister also used the opportunity of the meeting to refute insinuations of a rift between him and Fayemi, saying “Kayode Fayemi and I are one. There is no division between us. We always work together and are in constant consultation on matters relating to politics and governance in the state and nationally.”
Adebayo laughed off suggestions that he is considering contesting for a second term as governor of the state, saying Fayemi’s first term was his own second term, and that he is now in his third term through Fayemi.
In his remarks, Fayemi warned party members to eschew divisive and selfish agenda.
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He kicked against persons promoting “tendencies such as JKF Tokan Tokan and Adebayo Original”, saying there is only one APC structure in Ekiti.
Other speakers at the meeting were unified in their call for all party members to close ranks and work towards ensuring a crisis free congress that would pave the way for a strong and resilient party machinery at the wards, local governments, and state levels ahead of the 2022 gubernatorial election.
Commenting on the development, Akin Rotimi, a chieftain of the APC in Ekiti, said, “Close watchers of the dynamic between the duo, who represent the finest ideals of comradeship, mutual respect, honour, decency, and progressive politics, understand the legacies they are building individually and jointly – a legacy of a progressive tradition in the state built on intentional succession planning, party discipline, respect for elders, and emphasis on consultation and consensus building in party affairs.
“In a conservative state that values respect for elders and system stability, the task before young people aspiring to public office in Ekiti, especially those in the progressive camp, is to reprise the pattern of the emergence of Otunba Adebayo in 1999, and Governor Fayemi in 2007 as gubernatorial candidates and subsequently Governors in their early forties, by demonstrating competence and character, thereby earning the trust of the elders and forging an inter-generational connection that would see young people take the lead, while party elders provide sagely guidance and mentoring.”
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