Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has knocked the former governor of Ekiti State Ayo Fayose for describing him as “quiet but deadly”.
Mr Makinde, in a statement by his media aide Taiwo Adisa on Thursday, warned Mr Fayose against spreading a false narrative about the south-west Peoples Democratic Party congress held in Osun State on Monday.
Both Makinde and Fayose presented candidates for the chairmanship of the party in the south-west.
While Makinde backed a former deputy governor of Oyo State and eventual winner Taofeek Arapaja, Fayose supported Eddy Olafeso.
But Fayose, who had acknowledged Makinde as his leader at the congress, insisted that the election was rigged and made a personal attack at the Oyo governor while speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.
Responding to Fayose’s remarks, Makinde said in the statement that the ex-governor’s comments were “unstatesmanlike, unguarded, malicious and wicked”.
“Governor Makinde had equally described the congress as a family affair, promising to work with anyone who emerged winner, with the climax of the Monday, April 12, 2021, event being the eventual acceptance of Governor Makinde as the leader of the South-West PDP by former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose,” the statement read.
“One is, therefore, surprised that less than 48 hours after that acceptance and the commitment to work with Governor Makinde to build the party, the former governor is masterminding an assault against Governor Makinde over the peaceful congress in which the latter made it clear that there would be ‘no victor, no vanquished’.
“One can see the ungodly pattern Makinde’s critics are following by trying to build a false narrative around the congress with a view to rubbishing it.
“It should, therefore, come as a surprise to the public that the same camp that claimed that it had conceded defeat and was ready to work with Arapaja, is now engaging in media warfare against the governor.”
“While we would not like to join issues with Mr. Fayose and those who contested against Ambassador Arapaja, over the outcome of the congress, we would like to caution that no one should attempt to impugn the personality of Governor Makinde, a peace-loving individual, who has never got anything by violence,” the statement further read.
