I wasn’t stopped from seeing Buhari – Fayemi

ADO-EKITI—THE Ekiti State Government, yesterday, dismissed a newspaper report insinuating that Governor Kayode Fayemi failed to see President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Villa, describing the report as misleading.

The state government, however, accused a senior Presidential aide of planting the story “after it was rejected by some State House Correspondents, who rebuffed the former lawmaker for the misleading and malicious story.”

In a statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, the state government said: “The attention of the general public is being drawn to a misleading publication by a national newspapers online with headline “Fayemi’s failed mission to Villa with Giadom”, published on Wednesday, June 24th, 2020.

“The falsehood, we gathered reliably, was fabricated by a senior aide of the Presidency and a former Senator and planted in the newspaper, after it was rejected by some State House Correspondents, who rebuffed the former lawmaker for the misleading and malicious story.

It is on record that the former lawmaker, in his desperate bid to rubbish Governor Fayemi, had told his close associates that he would battle Governor Fayemi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, with falsehood and cheap blackmail in his nefarious attempt to destabilize APC in Ekiti State.

“While he has the right to continue to tread the path of perfidy which has been his lifestyle from time immemorial, we least expected the newspaper to buy into such cheap blackmail in form of an unverifiable report, without due regard to the principles of fairness.

“For the purpose of clarity, it is important to state that the report was clearly a misleading one designed to cast aspersion on the person of Governor Fayemi and create an impression that the NGF Chairman is an unwanted visitor at the Villa. The largely unsubstantiated report was filled with bile, childish and unexplainable fury that signified nothing, just like a tale fit only for the tabloids.

“We, therefore, implore the general public to disregard the highly illogical concoction that was served as an exclusive story.

“In setting the record straight, we hereby state unequivocally that Governor Fayemi had no plan or reason to see Mr. President on Tuesday late afternoon as maliciously presented in the report. The Governor had earlier seen Mr. President at noon in company of three of his colleagues – Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Governor Simon Lalong (Plateau) and Governor Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa). Also present at that meeting were the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.

“Governor Fayemi was in the villa later in the afternoon to see the COS and State Chief of Protocol, SCOP.

“The Ekiti State Governor was never denied any opportunity to see President Buhari as he did not ask to see the President and neither did he go with Chief Giadom.”