My presidential ambition not a personal contest with Tinubu – Fayemi

The Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, said on Wednesday he has not betrayed the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, following his decision to vie for the presidency in 2023.

Fayemi made the clarification when he featured in a Channels Television’s programme, “Politics Today.”

The governor, who is the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, had on Wednesday declared his 2023 presidential bid.

Tinubu declared his intention to vie for the presidency in January.

Fayemi said: “Running for office is not an ambition; I’ve always maintained that it is service, it is sacrifice, it is duty.

“I’ve had a very good relationship with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu whom I met in exile in 1994 when he came out after the annulment of the election and the establishment of NADECO (National Democratic Coalition). We maintained a very cordial relationship ever since then.

Fayemi advocates for decentralization, says it’ll strengthen Nigeria’s democracy

“So, when I was asked by Governor Niyi Adebayo, the current Minister of Trade and Investment, to come and run for office in Ekiti, Asiwaju supported me; he was out there for me because of his knowledge of my involvement in the pro-democracy movement and we have worked together on a number of issues.

“This is not a personal contest; this is about Nigeria, the future of our children. It is about competing visions of what that future holds for Nigerians.

“I have the greatest respect for Asiwaju and I will continue to do that. But I do believe that I have a strong vision on how to reposition Nigeria and build on the legacies of the current President.

“The Asiwaju that I know is a democrat; he believes that politics is a marketplace of ideas and people should test their own convictions. His (Tinubu’s) courage of conviction is not in doubt and I do not think he will want to stamp on the convictions of others in terms of how Nigerians should go.

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“I don’t believe that we should see that as a basis for demonizing anyone and I know that the Asiwaju that I know, that I have interacted with would not subscribe to that. I don’t believe that he will use terminologies like betrayal.

“This is not an inheritance; it is about Nigeria – Nigeria is the commonwealth of all Nigerians. It is not a traditional title that we are seeking, the office we are seeking is to make an improvement for all Nigerians.”

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