I have no regrets supporting Jonathan; I’ll remain loyal to him even after he leaves office – Fayose

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has said he
has no regrets over his support for President
Goodluck Jonathan during the March 28
presidential poll.
Fayose made this known in a statement he issued
on Wednesday.
He said, ” It has become imperative once again to
address the media on the constitutional and
political crises being foisted on our dear State,
Ekiti by irritants of unbridled ambitions, who are
not only devoid of spirit of sportsmanship but
implacable even when all odds are against them
and roundly rejected by the good people of the
state.
“It is no longer news that I defeated an
incumbent governor in all the 16 Local
Government Areas in the State and that for the
first time in the history of Nigeria, attempts were
made to use the courts to prevent someone who
clearly won a governorship election from
assuming office.
“Since June 21, 2014 that the All Progressives
Congress (APC) suffered that humiliating defeat,
the party has suffered defeats in the entire local
government areas in Ekiti State in four other
elections, the latest being the House of Assembly
election in which APC won no single seat out of
the 26 seats.
“Ekiti people have been persistent in their
preference for me and my party, the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) to correct the ills of the
last four years and set the State on the path of
greatness.
“Despite that Ekiti people have consistently
spoken with their votes against the APC,
Nigerians are witnesses to the litany of illegalities
being woven by both the national leadership of
the party and its Ekiti State chapter, all in an
attempt to rob Ekiti people of the mandate freely
given to me.
“Despite receiving bloodied nose in both the
political and judicial arena in the hands of the
Ekiti masses as represented by me, these
desperate politicians are unrelenting in their
shenanigans, the latest being the information at
my disposal that even after May 29, the state
would not know peace.
“I however trust Ekiti people to do what is right in
securing peace in their land.
“I have been severally informed that I became the
prime demolition target of the APC national
leadership because of my overt and unalloyed
support for President Goodluck Jonathan during
the campaigns.
“Insiders in their party also told me that APC
leaders were also yet to get over the fact that in
the entire South-West, Ekiti was the only state
they could not “rob” for General Mohammed
Buhari (rtd). The eagle-eyed surveillance of Ekiti
people ensured that.
“I wish to declare unequivocally that I remain
loyal to President Jonathan even after May 29 as
my support for his re-election and administration
was not about bread-and-butter. I was convinced
he was moving Nigeria in the right direction,
despite all the noise. I have no regrets supporting
him. If same situation presents itself again, I
would do it all over.
“Let me state It clearly that if President Jonathan
is deserted by all Nigerians today, I, Ayodele
Fayose, would remain with him. I have chosen to
be his last-man standing.
“If for this show of loyalty to Mr President and
my party, APC and its leaders believe that the
best way to pay me back is to make Ekiti
ungovernable, the decision on appropriate reaction
belongs to the people, whose mandate I keep in
trust.
“It is ironic that those who said worse things
about the President-elect, General Muhammadu
Buhari (rtd) when they were in opposing parties,
are the ones milling around him today, using him
as an electoral talisman and demonizing us for
saying things of lesser magnitude during a
campaign that was mainly characterized by hate-
messages from both divides.
“I also want to put on record that if all PDP
members decamp to APC today, I will remain the
last-man standing for the party, even a I have no
cause to denigrate the office of the president.
“I also promise APC a robust and engaging
opposition both in the South-West, and nationally,
with me playing a prominent role.
“Let me again state that I will continue to seek
peace with my traducers and troublers of Ekiti.
“Since the Supreme Court judgement which held
my 2006 impeachment as illegal, unconstitutional,
null and void and of no effect, my preachings
have been peace. This is to see if a hand of
fellowship as urged by elders in the state and the
nation at large would bring sanity to the
opposition camp. It definitely has nothing to do
with cowardice; as Ekiti is a land of the brave.
“In alerting the international community on what
to expect from May 29 as regards the threat by
the APC to make Ekiti ungovernable, I have
decided to put on notice the United Nations (UN)
and the African Union (AU) on the imminent reign
of impunity by APC as from May 29.
“Since Ekiti people are certain to resist the
planned plundering of their land, Nigerians and
the world at large should know who to hold
responsible in the event of anarchy in Ekiti State
in particular and the entire Yorubaland.
“God bless our land.”