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| Tope Aluko |
A fresh twist crept into the
reconciliation between Governor Ayodele Fayose and a former Secretary of
the Ekiti Peoples Democratic Party, Tope Aluko, on Tuesday, when the
latter denied reconciling with Fayose.
This came barely 48 hours after Fayose
and Aluko jointly addressed journalists at the VIP section of the Eko
Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, on Sunday.
Last year, Aluko alleged that Fayose,
with support from former President Goodluck Jonathan, rigged the
governorship election held on June 21, 2014.
Speaking with journalists on Tuesday in
Lagos, Aluko, however, alleged that he was under duress when he
addressed journalists in company with Fayose.
He added that the event was stage-managed by Fayose and some PDP chieftains to look like a reconciliation.
He said, “I received a call from two
senior members of the party. One of them is a serving senator and the
other is a former governor. I was told to come to the Eko Hotel to meet
with them and I went in company with my wife.
“We were halfway into the discussion,
which they tagged as a ‘Peace parley’. It should be noted that no
reference was made to the 2014 (Ekiti) governorship election and the
aftermath, including my revelation to the public about the way the
election was rigged in favour of Ayo Fayose. “I was shocked to see Governor Fayose
walk into the meeting at this point. I won’t want to bore you with the
drama and the face-off that ensued between me and Governor Fayose at the
meeting. “It is worthy of note that it was at
this point that my wife barged into the meeting to inform me that she
noticed the presence of pressmen downstairs, saying, ‘there is a
problem’, but Fayose interrupted her and said, ‘Madam, there is no
problem’.
Aluko said he stood by all the
allegations he had earlier made about former President Goodluck Jonathan
assisting Fayose to rig the 2014 Ekiti governorship election with the
provision of security operatives and funds.
He also said he played along after sensing that his life might be in danger, but he refused to disclose the source of danger.
Aluko declined to mention the names of the PDP chieftains, whom he said invited him to the hotel. He added, “My wife insisted and said she
overheard them saying that they were called back through an SMS from
Governor Fayose, saying ‘come back because T. K. Aluko is around’.
“At that point, I became enraged and
decided to leave the place but I noticed Governor Fayose rushing after
me downstairs in a Gestapo manner. My wife was already fidgeting and was
almost crying, and suddenly, I could not find her around me. “Immediately, I realised that I needed
to obey to Governor Fayose’s instruction of facing the press because of
the safety of my family.
“One fact remains clear, at no time did
I, Temitope Aluko, refute anything I had earlier said before Nigerians
and the whole world about the manipulations that characterised the 2014
governorship election in Ekiti State. “You will also notice the several
counter allegations by Fayose and his media team that none of them has
refuted all I have said, rather, the attack has been on the messenger
and not the message.”
Apologising to Nigerians for being
naïve, Aluko said, “I will like to apologise to all Nigerians that,
perhaps, accepting the invitation was a tactical error.
“However, I wouldn’t have accepted to
attend the meeting in the first place if I had known that Ayo Fayose
would be in attendance. I only chose to attend in order to honour the
party leaders’ invitation.
“Finally, I need to emphasise that all
that transpired at the Eko Hotel on that fateful day was an organised
propaganda to stain my image and malign my integrity.”
But a statement from the Special
Assistant to the Ekiti State Governor on Public Communications and New
Media, Lere Olayinka, said the state government would not dignify Aluko
with a response.
Olayinka also described Aluko as ‘a perjurer and an unstable character, who speaks from both sides of his mouth’.
He said, “As far as we are concerned,
the All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State, which would be willing to
accommodate even Judas Iscariot or the notorious armed robber, Lawrence
Anini, (if he were to be alive), could keep Temitope Aluko in its fold –
that is their business.
“We don’t want a Judas in the PDP and anywhere near the government and that has been made clear.”
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PLEASE BE POLITE