APC fully ready to retain power in Ekiti – Speaker Afuye

The people of Ekiti State will on Saturday go to the polls to elect another governor who will take over the state governance from the outgoing governor, Kayode Fayemi and political parties are already in last minute rush to woo electorate.

In this interview, Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Funminiyi Afuye, says his party, the All Progressives Congress is fully ready for the Saturday governorship election.

Honourable Afuye said the Kayode Fayemi administration’s sterling performance in the last three and half years is enough reason for Ekiti residents to reelect APC.

“I can say without fear of contradictions that our party is ready both at the retail, the wholesale and indeed the at the mega levels. At the retail, we have been going round networking, talking to people, individually, to groups and associations. In terms of wholesale, we have been going round the villages and communities. And of course, the icing on the cake was the presence of the whole party apparatus in Ekiti on the day before yesterday (Tuesday). They were led by no other person than by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the national chairman of the party.

“The governor has performed excellently and delivered on all his campaign promises. We are running on the platform of good governance delivered by the Fayemi administration.”

Speaking on the peaceful conduct of the poll and refusal of some candidates to sign peace accord, the speaker said: “Well as far we are concerned, we have the tradition of trajectory of peaceful conduct of elections even if we have been victims of intimidation in the past elections, we are peace loving people and we have not departed from that. You are aware that leaders were the people that fought for this democracy, so, whatever will bring peaceful and free and fair election we stand by it, that’s our ethos. We are going to give people of Ekiti an election that is free, fair and peaceful.

“Apart from the peace accord at the state level, I also signed a peace accord in my community championed by my traditional ruler. That tells you we are lovers of peaceful conduct.”

Dismissing the claims by some political opponents that the Fayemi administration has not run the state in a transparent manner, the speaker said “The govt of the day is transparent that you haven’t heard of scandal of any sort. Our candidate is running on continuity, the five pillars of governance embarked upon by Fayemi’s administration. Governance should be a continuum but the current administration has addressed the pillars significantly. That’s what BAO too will build on.”

Honourable Afuye also rates Fayemi administration high in the area of security. “Security is well managed and checkmated in Ekiti by Fayemi Administration. Of course there are skirmishes, but they are nipped in the bud. Fayemi Administration has done greatly well in the area of security. I always tell my friends that Ekiti is the most secured state in Nigeria, but security is a business of everybody and Ekiti people don’t take laws into their hands. People of Ekiti go about their daily activities without fear. Ekiti is not a banana republic that is not safe to live but I know we still have a lot of work to do.”