Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose says he is with the government of President Bola Tinubu but he won’t hesitate to criticise the current administration if it fails to fulfill its campaign promises to Nigerians.
“If the government in power is not doing the right thing, we’ll be courageous enough to tell the government in power,” Fayose told State House correspondents after a meeting with the President on Thursday.
“When (Muhammadu) Buhari was President in this country I didn’t shy away from telling him the truth and the government. If President Ahmed Bola Tinubu is shying away from his brief, I Ayo Fayose, Oshoko, will be courageous enough to tell him,” he noted.
Fayose said now that elections are over, it is time for governance and Nigerians will need to rally round the President, whom he said has good intentions for the country.
The ex-governor said he does not expect the President to fail, noting that if there is any delay, it will not be a deliberate act on the part of the President.
Fayose lauded the steps taken so far by the Tinubu administration, saying they can readily give Nigerians the direction of this government.
Asked whether he is still a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he said, “I will never be a member of the APC (All Progressives Congress). I am a PDP man, if anything takes me out of the PDP or if I don’t do partisan politics again, I will be the husband of my wife at home.”
On whether he will accept an appoint should the President extend one to him, the former Ekiti State governor said, “It is not a matter of party, Nigeria is bigger than all political parties and all interest groups. I want to tell you again, you don’t have to take an appointment to make a difference. Nigeria is about 200 million population, we all can’t be on appointment, whosoever makes it, either in the APC or in the attempt to have a government of national unity, it’s all about service.
“May I say to you expressly, I am not a desperate person at all, but I don’t shy away and I will never shy away to give direction wherever I am. I am with this government, without apologies. Majority in the past can tell you, even when I was a sitting governor in Ekiti, I’ve always spoken well of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
He, however, said he won’t hesitate to criticise the Tinubu administration if it fails to fulfil its promises to Nigerians.
“I want to say to you that Nigerians know me very well when President Buhari was to come. From day one, I made it very clear that the President will not do well. I did not hide, I was open to it and I said it repeatedly.
“If Asiwaju turns back on his promise, all he said when he was campaigning, I will be the first to talk. I am not timid and I don’t shy away from facing challenges but the man I have seen today, I don’t eulogise and I don’t praise to curry favour, I am no more a small boy. Let me tell you, the man I saw today and for the actions we have seen, means well for Nigeria.
“But if there’s any reason to derail, it will not be deliberate and we will all be able to draw his attention to his brief as the President and Commander-in-Chief of our country. Let us be optimistic, let us be hopeful and let us believe that there will be a turn around,” he said.
