2019: Fayose Makes ‘U’ Turn, Dumps Presidential Ambition, Eyes VP Slot

LAGOS MARCH 7TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State may have finally dumped his ambition to contest the 2019 presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), DAILY INDEPENDENT has learnt.
The governor, whose four-year tenure will end this year, formally declared his intention in September 2017 in Abuja.
Since then, not much has been heard from him about his presidential ambition.
A member of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) said the Ekiti State governor had seen that his presidential ambition was mission impossible.
“Fayose has seen the handwriting on the wall that his ambition is not acceptable to stakeholders in PDP, even in his home state of Ekiti and the South West, and may have quietly chosen to withdraw from the race,” he said.
He added that, in recent meetings, Fayose had been working with other stakeholders to ensure that the PDP presented a strong, sellable candidate from the North who could defeat whoever emerges as the flag bearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Fayose is no longer in the race. He recently said the PDP is seeking a very strong presidential candidate from the North.
“That alone shows you that he has jettisoned the idea of contesting under our great party. It is a dream that can never come true.
“If he believes he has a divine mandate to contest the 2019 presidential election and defeat the incumbent president, he is free to go ahead as there are over 60 political parties in the country and many of them will be willing to give their ticket to him, not PDP,” the source said.
On the governor’s political future, he said the governor was currently seeking to persuade the party to zone the vice-president ticket to the South-West.
“From what I know, he is seeking to become a running mate to whoever gets the party’s flag in the North.
“He believes that he is the highest ranking PDP member in the South West today and as such may be considered for the position if it is zoned to the South West.
“I think he believes he stands a better chance here. The PDP is trying to match the APC fire-for-fire.
“Their national chairman (John Oyegun) is from the South-South and we have also succeeded in producing a national chairman from the South-South in the person of Uche Secondus.
“So, if the APC decides to retain the vice-presidency in the South-West, I think PDP may also do the same, though many people in the party believe it should go to the South-East,” he said.
However, speaking with DAILY INDEPENDENT, Lere Olayinka, Special Assistant to Fayose on Public Communications and New Media, denied the report that his principal had quit the race.
Olayinka, who said Fayose’s presidential ambition was very much intact, insisted that since Fayose made a public declaration on his ambition, he would also do same if he was no longer contesting.
“No, he has not withdrawn from the 2019 presidential race on the platform of the PDP.
“He is still very much in the race. When he was going to declare, he did it openly. So, if he is going to withdraw from the race, he will also make it public,” Olayinka said.
Though the party has zoned the ticket to the North, Fayose, in his declaration speech, said while he was aware of the fact, he would contest the primaries because he believed he had what it would take to emerge the party’s flag bearer.

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