The Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, and Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti State and Chairman of Nigerian Governor Forum (NGF) on Sunday traded tackle over APC’s performance in past years that leaves Nigerians lamenting.
Fayemi had on The Platform, a programme organised by the Covenant Christian Centre, and aired live on Channels Television commented on state of the nation where he maintained that those agonising over APC’s leadership have opportunity to effect a leadership change during elections in 2023, a development considered as anti-party by Osita Okechukwu.
Both are foundation members, but Okechukwu, who did not take Fayemi’s comment lightly accused the governor of inciting Nigerians against the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Fayemi had on the Platform said, “If your search is a regime change in a democracy, there is only one way for regime change in a democracy. You work towards it. Another election is going to come, if you do not like what APC is doing, stop agonising, organise against the party.
Link up with others who are agonising and then kick the APC out of office and put people that you think will do better,” the Ekiti Governor had said .
Responding to questions from journalists in Abuja on Sunday, Okechukwu said much as he has tremendous respect for the governor, that his comment on live TV at the Covenant Platform on Saturday was simply anti-party and an overkill.
Okechukwu said: “Is it politically correct for a person of his caliber to use such world wide audience and uncommon platform to incite people against our great party?
“Yes, one agrees with him that there are competing narratives and that some unforced security errors were made but one expected him to use his acclaimed intellectual prowess to mobilise his fellow governors to unlock democracy at the state and local government tiers.”
Okechukwu described the Governors’ emperor-like disposition as the greatest challenge to restructuring of Nigeria, contending that by omission or commission, Governor Fayemi neither protected President Buhari nor the APC in the brouhaha of restructuring.
He said, “In the market place of restructuring APC is marked Zero percent, whilst we scored more than 40% in opening the frontier of democracy with independent judiciary and legislature at the state level.
That’s real restructuring.”
Continuing Okechukwu maintained that, “A diligent party leader could have commenced mobilization of his colleagues in 2018, the day President Buhari signed the amendment of Section 121(3) into law. He waited two years later to oppose Executive Order 10, an order meant to give life to Section 121(3), which definitely will unlock democracy at sub-national level where Nigeria Governors Forum had kidnapped democracy.”
“Fayemi said openly that the Governors are not opposed to Section 121(3), but to Executive Order 10, citing unnecessary powers conferred to the Accountant General and others. The question is why didn’t they implement the amendment for two years before Executive Order 10 of 2020?”
“Take it to the bank, independent judiciary and legislature at the state level is a major plank of real restructuring. Some of those opposed to State Police for instance cite the Emperorship, corrupt and autocratic tendencies of our governors. Governor Fayemi and his ilk, forget that acknowledging this milestone of Mr President could have allayed the Emperorship phobia of many.”
Okechukwu said APC still remains the best option Nigerians, even as he expressed optimism that the country will overcome the palpable insecurity in the land.
He advised Fayemi to go back to the drawing board and mobilise his colleagues in the Nigerian Governors Forum to implement Section 121(3), from where we can talk of State and Community Policing.
