Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose yesterday criticised President Muhammadu Buhari and former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his reaction to Obasanjo’s special press statement on the state of the nation.
He spoke while receiving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who kicked off his consultation for his presidential aspiration in Ado Ekiti.
The governor alleged that Obasanjo was aggrieved with the President because his (Obasanjo’s) ministerial nominees were rejected.
Calling Obasanjo unprintable names, Fayose faulted the ex-president’s call for a Third Force as alternative to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress ( APC).
He maintained that PDP remained the most viable alternative to APC and urged Nigerians to return the party to power in 2019.
Fayose also lampooned President Buhari for allegedly inflicting hardship on Nigerians.
The Ekiti helmsman said exchange rate had shrunk by 45 per cent under Buhari who he accused of doing nothing to stop the recent killings of Nigeria in some parts of the country.
He said every attempt to muzzle the PDP would fail and also predicted a landslide victory for the party in the July 14 governorship poll in Ekiti.
Atiku said he chose Ekiti as the first state to be visited for consultation on his presidential ambition because of Fayose’s role as an opposition leader and chairman of the PDP Governors Forum.
He commended Fayose for various projects being executed by his administration.
Atiku said Fayose’s popularity in Ekiti and Nigeria was not in doubt as he has been acknowledged as “frank, bold and straight forward politician.”
He said: “Since my return to PDP, this is the first state I am visiting to consult with leadership and party members.
“Governor Fayose and I had struck a relationship during his first tenure and I respect him for this.”
Atiku also hailed Fayose for nominating his deputy, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, as his preferred candidate for the 2018 governorship election.
The ex-vice president said he was not in Ekiti for campaign but to consult with party leaders on the way forward.