Ekiti 2026: Why President Tinubu Should Be Watchful Of Dr. Kayode Fayemi’s Voice Of Jacob And The Hands Of Esau Politics 

On the list of cast acting Fayemi’s script is Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele playing the sub-lead in the shadow, former governor Ayo Fayose taking up the role of the Chief Marketer (of a bad product), former House of Representatives member, Bimbo Daramola acting as the unofficial spokesperson while former Deputy Governor, Sen. Biodun Olujimi and more lately Sen. Babafemi Ojudu – the farmer among others and all of whom are spent force politicians made the list of the cast. This is notwithstanding the current members of the National Assembly and Ekiti State House of Assembly all playing their individual roles.

It is an open and shut fact that the former Minister of Solid Minerals and immediate past governor of Ekiti State, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi remains the political godfather of Governor Oyebanji till tomorrow. Whatever the governor does, he defers to him as the ‘Afobaje’, who in turn provides guidance and action-plan from the political chess-book already in place. Like the de facto governor that he is, Dr. Fayemi acts from the background – he is the ‘film director’ but acts behind the scenes which makes it somewhat difficult for people to see him. He is dictating the pace in Ekiti politics as it were today. To the public, Fayemi acts as though he were not aware of Governor Oyebanji’s political activities in recent times or that they both are not on the same page. Far from it. He does know. As a matter of fact, he is that master planner!

It is not stupefying that Fayemi has been part of the whole scheme from the start. Those who are politically savvy and discerning know, for certainty, that whatever is going on today in Ekiti is Fayemi’s script with a bigger plot ahead to stab President Tinubu as usual. After all, once a Judas is always a Judas. Fayemi, like his political godson Oyebanji (who is equally notorious for betraying his benefactors) has always betrayed President Tinubu even though the latter has been his greatest benefactor all his life. Fayemi is still pained that he could not make the cabinet list of President Tinubu after the 2023 presidential election. He felt he should have been ‘rewarded’ having stepped down for then Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu – the Jagaban on that fateful night, June 6, 2022 when he came out at the Eagle’s Square to publicly declare he was stepping down for Asiwaju Tinubu, then presidential aspirant.

However, what Fayemi failed to tell the world was that he did not step down of his own volition. Something triggered it. That notwithstanding, Fayemi did not see anything wrong in contesting against a man who funded his campaign 100% the very first time he ran for governor in same Ekiti State. He did not see anything wrong in rubbing shoulders against a man who brought him into political limelight. But then, it is understandable as it is often said in a school of thought that, “Betrayal is the oil that keeps the political machine running” and that, even though such credo is antithetical to human dignity, “To succeed in politics, you must become a master of betrayal”. This is never always in all situations. It is not the first time Dr. Fayemi would be backstabbing his political benefactor – Tinubu. So, it is not flabbergasting!

Going back memory lane in recent political history of progressive politics, Dr. Fayemi has severally backstabbed (now) President Tinubu. The public would recall how then Governor Fayemi as the Chairman of Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum (NGF) plotted the removal of then National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade (now Senator) Adams Oshiomhole during late President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure. He believed Senator Oshiomhole as the chairman would provide a smooth sail for a Tinubu presidency which he did not want because of his own ambition. Not only did he mastermind the removal of Oshiomhole to spite Tinubu, he equally did anti-party by supporting People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) Obaseki against All Progressives Congress’ (APC) Pastor Ize Iyamu during the then Edo gubernatorial election. That underscores how desperate Fayemi could be.

Dr. Fayemi is like the proverbial rat that bites you, yet blows the spot. As of today, he is seriously scheming with other reprobates to fund the African Democratic Congress (ADC) using Ekiti State’s resources (in billions) through Governor Oyebanji to launch the party in the South West. Only recently, one of Oyebanji’s aides was caught attending an ADC meeting convened in Osogbo by the former Minister of Interior and former governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola – another reprobate and backstabber of President Tinubu. Already, the plan is for Governor Oyebanji to run under the ADC platform should he fail to clinch the APC return ticket. This was the outcome of the meeting between the trio of Sen. David Mark, former Senate President and embattled pro tem chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Governor Biodun Oyebanji. Mr. President must therefore watch his back!

Mr. President may have been blessed with a soft heart of easily forgiving those who betrayed him – whether politically or otherwise. His famous quote, “I plan for betrayal. I plan for backstabbing and I also plan for reunion long before they happen. In life, I expect nothing. I expect anything. I expect everything” though evergreen is not apropos in the current situation. Mr. President needs to know that planning for reunion in the case with Dr. Fayemi alongside his godson, Oyebanji is akin to a man putting snake under his ‘babariga’. The fate of over 250million Nigerians waiting for his Renewed Hope agenda that has already started yielding fruits to fully manifest will be truncated abruptly. Fayemi and Oyebanji should be treated like political ‘lepers’ that they both are. Oyebanji should be allowed to go and test his popularity in the ADC as already planned by his ‘director’ – Fayemi.

Notwithstanding the billions that have allegedly entered into Dr. Fayemi’s ‘kolo’ from Governor Oyebanji, regardless of the choice mansions reportedly bought, each for himself and another one for his political godfather, Fayemi in Maryland, United States of America – a proof that he is an anathema to Ekiti by all standards; the Governor has proven beyond every reasonable doubt that he is cancerous to Mr. President’s agenda. And President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, therefore, must not jeopardise the fate of Nigerians. The future of this country is already being redesigned for shared prosperity by his administration. He must not in any way reinforce failure. Giving the incumbent Governor Biodun Oyebanji a return ticket to Oke-Ayoba Government House is analogous to a hara-kiri – where he will be perceived as giving his adversaries whetted cutlass to disembowel him politically. And that will amount to a catastrophe of monumental proportion.  An adventure he will not want to undergo for the sake of posterity.

Signed,