Southwest 2023: Fayemi to challenge Tinubu in presidential race

A group in Ekiti has revealed Gov Kayode Fayemi is eyeing the 2023 presidency, too, and that is the reason he is doing little in tackling the Fulani herdsmen menace in the state where two people were killed last week.

The Ekiti PDP National New Media Group (PDP-NNMG) said the governor was acting in a way that he would not be seen as offending the interests of “presidency cabal”.

“One of the promises he made before he was manipulated to power for the second time was to protect the interests of herdsmen.

“Only selfish and insensitive leaders will sacrifice the security and well-being of their people for politics,” the group said in statement on Sunday.

So far, in the rattle of the gathering battle for the 2023 presidency many believe the southwest may likely get, the APC leader Bola Tinubu has been the only big noise some politicians are making.

Tinubu himself has said he is under pressure to contest, now he has a lot more to worry about if Fayemi, a younger politician from the southwest and darling of Aso Rock, is also targeting the top job.

The PDP-NNMG leader,Bola Agboola, said Ekiti people were not surprised that the governor had not deemed it fit to visit victims of herdsmen killings in the last six months.

“one of the promises he made before he was manipulated to power for the second time was to protect the interests of herdsmen”.

According Agboola,  Fayemi has not visited Orin Ekiti, Ido/Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State, where a community leader, Ilori Emmanuel was killed yesterday morning by suspected herdsmen.

“Even when one of his aides, the Coordinator of Anti-Grazing Task Force Marshals, Sola Durodola insisted that Fulani herdsmen must be registered in Ekiti, the governor sacked him.

“Also, it is on record that during his electioneering campaign in 2018, Fayemi said that killings by herdsmen will only stop if lands were provided for the herdsmen as their permanent settlements.

“He reportedly added then that it was better to give lands to herdsmen and live than for them to be killing people.

“Even though he later dismissed the allegation that he entered into an agreement to create cattle colonies in Orin-Ora, Aramoko, Omuo, Otun, Ise and Erifun in Ado Ekiti, silence of the governor on killings and kidnappings by suspected herdsmen appears to have confirmed the allegation,” the group said