A former governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayo Fayose, says he does not see how the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) can win in South-East and South-West in the 2023 presidential election. In this interview on Channels Television Politics Today monitored by Linus Aleke, the chieftain of the party noted that the chances of his party winning the position of the topmost job is a tall dream, among other issues.

What exactly is going on in the PDP, what side of the divide are you?
Your question is straight forward and you said, that you want to find out if I am a supporter of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike that is public knowledge and it comes without apology. By the grace of God, I don’t betray trust, I remain with people indefinitely forever, and I stand with Wike. Yes, no man is perfect, like me, and like others. We have our flaws and we learn from them. Notwithstanding, I have always said that Wike is a man with a good heart. I have always said in my conversations with people that Wike is a very straightforward man. Whatever we go through in politics today, is a product of people around us, and what they do to us, especially when you give your best in circumstances and at the end of the day they stab you in the back. It is like a dog that comes when you are back home, and starts jumping and running around you, someday that dog may start barking and trying to attack you. Something must have gone amiss, something must have gone wrong. So, for me without apology, I am Wike’s friend and I am one of those that can talk to him. Even when people may have come and gone, he will invite me over, bare his mind and we share time and I will express myself. During my last visit to Port Harcourt, I was able to talk in a manner that will ensure that this party comes together again as one big family, despite my pains against the party. I pleaded with people around the candidate, and around Wike, but with particular emphasis on the people around the candidate. This is because Governor Wike is not contesting for the presidency. Mind you that there are many people in the corridors of power that destroy the throne. Let me tell you, and I maintain that position till tomorrow, a lot of people know when Wike comes around, when this matter is resolved they will be displaced. Recall that most of the people that are around the candidate today were people who at different times have either done something wrong to Governor Wike or had done things that they cannot return there and for that gap, they don’t want it to close. Let me start by telling you that one of the greatest joys to my heart will be the PDP coming together again. I am by the grace of God, a 62 years old man, I am no longer looking for an appointment. I cannot go and stand in front of any president again and be doing a presentation in the council. No, that time is gone, I have had a fair opportunity to serve Nigeria.

Let’s hit the nail on the head, are you supporting Atiku Abubakar for the 2023 presidential election?
Atiku Abubakar is the candidate of the PDP and he remains the candidate of the party. Beyond that, let me tell you this, my biological son is contesting under the PDP, but that will not stop me from saying the truth where necessary. When I left office in 2018, some said that Fayose will be in jail forever because Buhari will put him there. Today, Buhari is on his way out and I am still here. I was one of the lonely voices, one of the voices you can talk about in Nigeria any time and day. I didn’t shy away from speaking truth to power, looking at them eyebrow to eyebrow and telling them that this thing is not right. But someone that has spoken the truth to power in Buhari’s administration should not be afraid of pointing out errors in his party. But let me tell you, Atiku Abubakar remains the candidate of the party, I had not heard Governor Wike or the other four governors that made up the G-5, saying that Atiku is not the presidential candidate of the party. I am a PDP man but that does not say, sir, that I will not bare my mind when necessary.

I will like to ask you again, will you vote for Atiku Abubakar during the 2023 poll?

It implies that when someone is a candidate of your party, and my son is contesting. I will remain with PDP, in my state I will vote for PDP, and today Atiku is the leader of the party by reasons of his position as the candidate of the party. Let me go a little further to remind you that I said, my son is running, even if I hate Atiku, I don’t think I will hate my son. So, let us balance that and get it clear, I had not heard Governor Wike say that Atiku is not the candidate of the party. Let me tell you this very quickly, something is wrong and needs to be addressed. In 2019, Governor Wike supported Governor Tambuwal of Sokoto and the same Governor Tambuwal contested against Atiku and Atiku won. In 2022, he won again, Wike gave his best, and I was an insider on his support of Tambuwal. When Tambuwal lost, Wike went out of his way, I was privy to everything that happened. He supported and mobilised for Atiku all through the campaign. There is nothing I and Wike do not talk about. Even after the election, Wike stood by the party to realise the mandate. Let me tell you again, Wike has not said anywhere today that Atiku is not a PDP candidate. But he is succinct in his words, if you don’t need me, I cannot campaign for you. We are talking about reconciliation. Reconciliation is not about war, Wike is not contesting to be president, minimally in this context. Atiku is the one contesting, we need more effort than we are putting into it. It is he that is hurt that raises his voice, if you want peace with Wike, it is very easy. I have heard severally, when people will say, we want peace and we want reconciliation, but reconciliation will not come by word of mouth. So many committees have visited Rivers, and many others have visited Atiku Abubakar, including the BOT has visited, but what has come out of it? When you beg the story, when you refuse to tell the story properly, you cannot get justice without staying the truth, even if I don’t like Wike, he is saying that it is wrong for the candidate to come from the north, it is wrong for the chairman of the party to come from the north, and it is wrong for the DG campaign council to also come from the North. You don’t need Wike to address that kind of anomaly, you don’t need Wike, to take action about that. There are what we call actions and there are what we call stories, what is happening in the PDP today is more of stories than actions. And let me say this with due respect to the national chairman, people will come up to say that Secondus were driven away by Wike, I was a supporter of Secondus but don’t let us forget the facts. The same Wike and his colleagues by the grace of God brought Senator Ayu, the current chairman, should we wish away all these governors because of the national chairman?

You earlier said that you will support a southern candidate and people are now seeing you around Tinubu, are you supporting Tinubu or Atiku?

You have brought up two or three issues in one question, let me say this to you, is Atiku or Tinubu a supporter of each other’s party? When we saw them in Abuja sitting together, is Atiku supporting APC or Tinubu supporting PDP? Do not let us go there, let me tell you, if people are expecting me to be abusing Tinubu, to show that I am not supporting him, I will not do that. I cannot count one or two northerners or northern governors, even with the low level of Buhari’s government that have insulted Buhari, or come out to attack him one day. I have not seen a northerner that has come to attack Atiku. But here, to achieve our goals, I must go out and be insulting Tinubu, let me say it clearly, I will not insult Tinubu to please any interest. I just said it to you, Atiku Abubakar is the candidate of the PDP and my son is also, contesting under the same platform. So if the only thing that will prove to you that I am not in support of Bola Tinubu is to come out and insult Tinubu, I will never do it. Listen to me, Atiku and Tinubu are over 70 years old, why are they sitting together to rub minds, they are probably after Buhari, to be number and number two in this country, they did not carry cutlasses against each other, count me out of that. When we get mature in life we do things better, I stand here to say that Tinubu remains a Yoruba leader of note, and Atiku remains a northern leader of note and I am not going to be insulting Atiku and I will not insult Tinubu, it is only God that gives power. If anybody is expecting me to come and do damage control because of my utterances, I will not do so. Let me tell you, I supported Wike during the primary because he was a southerner and because I want the power to shift from the north to the south. More to the fact, Buhari had done eight years, using the northern slot in my view as a leader in this country, there is a rotational presidency in our country. Let me also tell you, part of the demand of Governor Wike and co, before I continue on this, let me bring this to public knowledge because it may not be in the public domain, if I am telling lies, those involved can come here and deny it. The 16 delegates from Ekiti, I told them to vote for Wike. If it is only one vote that they give to me because of my name, and Wike loses by one vote, I would have betrayed trust, I did not hide it at all. But let me quickly go back to what I was saying, when I went to Wike and some of the governors that were supporting him, part of their demand was, that Atiku is 76 so that the south will not feel somehow, that Atiku should do only one term, then he will be 80 years. So, we would be able to tell our people that it is only one tenure, we can still tolerate it, so, it cannot be eight years, and another eight years, in the north again making 16 years. Let me tell you with all sense of humility, party politics did not stipulate that you should not say what is right or wrong. I am not against any person but I am speaking for posterity. All that I said about Buhari came to pass, and nobody can deny that, or take that away from me.

2023: Brothers at war in Anambra

Some said that you are not supporting Atiku, because he did not come to campaign in Ekiti during the governorship election, can you clarify this?

I had clarified that already, and I have told you that a lot of people are ready for blackmail but I am not bothered about that. I will tell you very expressly that this Fayose, will never come out to insult Tinubu and call him a name. I will not do that to Atiku as well, and I will not do that to Governor Wike. Let us come to issues, who can fix this country, our party has issues, let us fix them and move forward. Let me tell you, part of the good intentions of Governor Wike about Ekiti issues, even before the primary, he supported us to make sure that we win that election. He gave us the necessary support and I am still telling you that despite the difference between Atiku Abubakar and Governor Wike, it is still in his good intentions to support Ekiti to win the election. Let me equally say to you, my son contesting or not contesting, I am a leader and I am a party man. What I am supposed to do in this coming election, I will do, that is my position on that.

Is that a commitment that you will work for Atiku Abubakar and the PDP?

That is given, that has been said. Atiku, if he is watching this programme, when I was invited to see him in Lagos, I told him I will tell Governor Wike. I told Governor Wike and I told Atiku that I told Governor Wike and he gave his express approval. Governor Wike’s words were that anything that we need to do to make things work we should do it. This was about four weeks ago, I was there with Atiku Abubakar, and I don’t want to make our private meeting public. Most of the things I am saying now was the things that I told him. Wike is your brother, some people will say don’t go to Rivers, those people don’t want you to be the president, they don’t want you to win the election. You have been to Rivers in and out, and the majority of people around our candidate have issues with governor Wike that is why you see this crisis lingering. They are discouraging the candidate and I want to say that we can’t wish away these governors and leaders, but that doesn’t mean that I hate the national chairman. In 2015, five governors left this party. I recalled very well that Atiku Abubakar left, Bukola Saraki left, Tambuwal left and a number of them left. It did not end well for the party, we must not allow history to repeat itself. Wike is not contesting the election, stop adjudging Wike and Atiku as if one is in PDP and the other is in APC. We need Wike to be on board with us, Wike’s demands are not personal. Wike is not saying that the next national chairman must come from South-South, he is not saying that he wants to be the national chairman. Some people went to the streets and say that if they concede to Wike, it will be an insult to the north. Some said that if you concede to him, he will ask for more, I don’t agree with them. Wike will be in the eye of a storm if he changes gear after asking for that. Politics is about to give and take. Let me remind you of a story of a man, he said that he grabbed ten things and was running, and people were running after him, he threw two of the items down, and they were scrambling for them and some still kept running after him, and he threw down another one and at the end of the day he got home with seven, he used three to secure seven, Atiku has more than seven. As a statesman, the national chairman should sacrifice that seat for peace. That is not a sacrifice too much, what can Atiku do, he cannot force you. Atiku himself told me that he wish he had the powers to take these actions but that he does not have such powers. But if Atiku does not have, the national chairman has to help him to win the primary, and he should equally make this sacrifice to enable Atiku to win the coming elections.

Do you see Obi as a threat to PDP in the coming elections, putting into consideration his growing popularity and the fact that his emergence has reconfigured the scenario where the contest is always between the major parties as was the case in 2015 and 2019?

Let me say to you again, I am a PDP member and a leader in this party, but I have always said to you that you cannot survive the storm when you hide the truth. Obi is a danger to watch out for, I don’t believe Obi will make 25 percent in 2/3 of the federation which, translates to about 23 or 24 states. I don’t believe Obi will win that 25 percent across the board, I am not against Obi, I love him and he is a very vibrant leader. But I don’t believe he will win because of my permutations as an individual but with God, nothing shall be impossible. But let me now say, Obi is more of chronic cancer to PDP which is not denying. Let me give you my analysis, in the southwest here, people might not like to hear that, they might say Fayose has come again, I don’t see how PDP can win South-West. Anybody deceiving us can continue to deceive us, I didn’t see how PDP will win in the South-East. The south-south will be a combination of all interests, let me now come back to the key states of the north, without deceiving ourselves there is so much work to be done in North-Central. Both PDP and APC have not picked a president or vice president candidate from north central. The northeast is where you have the candidate of PDP and the vice presidential candidate of APC. PDP will win Adamawa, Taraba, and Bauchi but may not win the remaining three states of Borno, Yobe, and Gombe. Don’t also forget that there is another Kwankwaso in Kano who is a semi-cancer that can equally upstage figures in the north. Even if they will support us in the north, it will not be as if the PDP will sweep the votes across the board. Negotiating with Obi will be a good thing and finding a way to make peace with this Wike people too, will be a good thing.