Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti state, has declared
his interest to contest the 2019 presidential election.

Speaking at a ceremony where he made his interest
known, Fayose said having defeated two incumbents
in his state, he is sure of defeating President
Muhammadu Buhari with the support of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP).

He also said as Nigeria’s longest-serving governor —
having worked under former presidents Olusegun
Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan and now Buhari, he
has what it takes to emerge Nigeria’s next president.
“My party leaders, standing before you is Peter (The
Rock) Ayodele Fayose, the man already destined by
God to take Nigeria out of the present political and
economic stagnation,” he said.

“I do not stand before Nigerians today to present
myself as one with the answers to all our national
questions. Rather, I present myself as one with the
required knowledge, understanding, competence and,
above all, the political will to coordinate the human
and material resources that we have in abundance to
achieve national greatness.

“Twice, I defeated incumbents to become the governor
of Ekiti state and I am confident that with your support
as my party leaders and supporters, I will defeat the
incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari, in a free
and fair election.”

He took a swipe at the All Progressives Congress
(APC) government, saying “like they lied to win
election, the government of Buhari has been deceitful
for over two years”.

Fayose promised that not only will Nigeria’s economy
be revived under him through diversification to
agriculture, there will also be “adequate supply of
power and massive industrialization, thereby creating
employment for our youth”.

He said: “With me as your president, you can be rest
assured of a government that will be responsive to
your needs. You are guaranteed a federal government
that will relate with all Nigerians not on the basis of
ethnicity, religion, political affiliations and the
percentage of votes but on equity and justice as
citizens of one nation, one people, and one destiny.”

On the PDP’s decision that the 2019 presidency has
been zoned to the north, Fayose said no northerner is
yet to indicate interest to run for the presidential
position, asking: “Do we now say that if no one comes
out from the north, the party won’t have a candidate?”
“Our party must not lose sight that Nigerians at this
period are desirous of a president with demonstrated
capacity to change their fortunes. Furthermore, we
must be mindful of the fact that our party needs a
candidate like me, with a penchant for defeating
incumbents.”

TheCable