‘I must not be killed like Bola Ige’ — Fayose speaks on attack at Ondo rally

Ayodele Fayose, former governor of Ekiti state, says he must not be killed the way Bola Ige, late attorney general of the federation, was murdered.

Shortly before he was killed on December 23, 2001, Ige was attacked by hoodlums and his cap was removed at an event at the palace of the Ooni of Ife.

On Wednesday, Fayose was attacked during a rally of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship election in Ondo state.

As he walked towards the podium at the PDP campaign ground, suspected hoodlums charged towards him and removed his cap.

The incident led to a clash between the suspects and the former governor’s security operatives.

In a statement Lere Olayinka, his media aide, issued on his behalf, Fayose added that the “popularity of his brand” can never be ridiculed.

The former governor said he would “make a formal report to the security agencies and relevant authorities in the party”.

He added that the attack must not be handled with levity “as security agencies will have to unravel all the thugs brought to the event and their sponsors”.

He said those who aim to tarnish the image of the party will not be successful.

“That’s how late Chief Bola Ige’s cap was removed in Ile-Ife, Osun State then and we all know what happened later,” he said.

“So this one will not be ignored and treated as one of those things. The masterminds had it all planned and they followed it up by celebrating what they saw as the success of their plot. They even capped it up by circulating the video.

“So it was not an accident, it was planned. But those who planned it only succeeded in advertising their political myopism because the popularity of the brand Ayo Fayose, Osokomole cannot be rubbished by such a childish act.

“That they must have seen in the reaction of the people at the rally and I am sure they know that they can’t get such loud ovation even if they spend all the money in this world.

“As for me, I am unperturbed and I must say it clearly that those newcomers to the PDP and their old allies, who won’t mind soiling the image of the party to achieve their aims, will not be allowed to succeed.”