Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji has appealed to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate in the last election, Chief Segun Oni, to return to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Oyebanji begged Oni to return to the APC in the interest of the state’s development.
He stated this on Tuesday while speaking during his visit to Oni’s residence in Ifaki-Ekiti, Ido-Osi Local Government Area of the state.
The governor said the gesture was in fulfillment of his pledge to personally call and visit the former governor whom he described as a brother and leader for whom he had great respect.
Oyebanji said, “I am here to debunk the notion that you don’t return from the court and become friends. I am here to greet my senior brother and leader whom I have great respect for.
“For me, I believe litigation is part of the electoral process and I appreciate His Excellency for pursuing the electoral matter up till the apex court and not recourse to self-help.
“We belong to different political parties, but when it comes to Ekiti development, God has put you as pathfinder and you are an Ekiti man to the core. You love this state. And sir, we campaigned on a mantra of prosperity, and you just spoke about it that we need to develop the state to a point where every indigene of this state will be prosperous irrespective of where they find themselves. We can only do that by creating development centres in our local governments and communities.
“I am pleading with you sir, now that the party you suffered for, where you were Deputy National Chairman is now in the centre, I am too young to give you a directive but as one of your ardent followers, I want you to consider coming back home. Asiwaju Tinubu needs every good head, every good hand to succeed and he is from this zone of the country and when Segun Oni is not in the basket, the basket is not full.
” I’m pleading with you in the interest of our people, in the interest of Yoruba nation, in the interest of Nigeria.
“As a Governor, I consult with all the former Governors, in fact, I consult more with Governor Fayose than with Fayemi and Adebayo, why, because I went through the tutelage of Adebayo and Fayemi, so on any issue, I have an idea of what they will do so I don’t even bother them that much. But I did not have the opportunity of working with Governor Fayose. So, I usually call him to seek his opinion on some issues and he would readily oblige me. I have that relationship with him and I want to have same with you. I want to be able to consult you, seek your opinion on some knotty issues.”
Oyebanji used the opportunity to inform Oni of his intention to set up a Council of former Governors which objective would be how to drive development of the state, and advise the incumbent on the best way to run the state from their wealth of experiences.
“I gave an advice sometimes when you were Governor that why don’t we have a conclave of former Governors, a replica of Council of State in Ekiti where all former Governors will sit down, give advice and assess the government; You said it was a good idea that you would do it, but you could not achieve it because of the verdict.