Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, has firmly denied reports claiming he had defected to the African Democratic Congress along with other All Progressives Congress leaders in the state, describing such reports as false and misleading.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Governor’s Special Adviser on Media, Yinka Oyebode, the report was dismissed as entirely baseless. According to Oyebode, the publication alleged that Governor Oyebanji, alongside some leaders and office holders in Ekiti State, was being led into the ADC by former Governor Dr Kayode Fayemi.
The statement read in part, “Ordinarily, one would have ignored the highly puerile write-up, which is nothing but another tissue of lies from the camp of some disgruntled elements in the state. But, keeping quiet in the midst of such a bare-faced falsehood would amount to a disservice to the good people of the state, some of whom could be hoodwinked into believing the misleading report.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Biodun Oyebanji and the public office holders mentioned in the report, remain firmly rooted in the All Progressives Congress and have no link, neither do they have any plan whatsoever to join the ADC.”
Oyebode further pointed out that while Dr Fayemi and the other leaders named in the report were fully capable of speaking for themselves, the facts were already clear. “It is on record that Dr Fayemi attended the recent APC Caucus meeting held in Iyin-Ekiti, where the caucus endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Oyebanji for a second term, a decision that was widely published in the print, broadcast and online media.”
Highlighting the governor’s consistent loyalty to the progressive movement, Oyebode added, “It should also be noted that Governor Oyebanji, had since inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999, remained in the progressive fold. He is one of the very few that has never moved out of the progressive movement in Ekiti State.”
The statement also addressed what it described as deliberate attempts by political opponents to sow discord. “We are aware of a deliberate attempt by some mischief makers to weaponise Governor Oyebanji’s association with Dr Fayemi in a bid to cause a rift between the Governor and President Tinubu. Unfortunately for these jesters, Mr President is a strategic politician who can see through their shenanigans and hidden agenda.”
Calling on Ekiti people to ignore the allegations, Oyebode continued, “Ekiti people are urged to disregard this childish media attack which is being sponsored by some desperate politicians interested in contesting the Governorship election in the state. While these desperate politicians have no clue about how to market their candidature to the Ekiti electorate or connect with the people, they have resorted to attacking the Government on social media and heaping up every unimaginable and unintelligent lies against the Governor in order to mask their frustrations.”
Concluding the statement, Oyebode pointed to the next phase of the political process, urging critics to face the electorate. “Now that the Independent National Electoral Commission has announced the date for the primary election, we expect them to be bold enough to come out and sell their candidature to party members and Ekitikete rather than seeking an ignoble way to gate crash.”