Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose,
has appealed to all the monarchs in Yoruba land to promote unity and
defend political leaders against external aggressors.
He also urged the Federal Government to review its policies because of massive hunger in the land.
The governor spoke in Ado Ekiti on
Thursday while receiving the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, at the
palace of the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe.
Fayose specifically appealed to Yoruba
kings to ensure that no harm should befall a former Lagos Governor,
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; the former Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Chief Olu Falae, and other leaders of the Yoruba race.
Tinubu is believed to have fallen out of
favour with President Muhammad Buhari while Falae is under
investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for
allegedly receiving part of the missing security funds from a former
National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).
Fayose said, “You (Ooni) are in a good
position to unite us. We want to appeal to you to remember that we all
belong to you, irrespective of political parties.
“That was why I said without apologies that an action against Ahmed Tinubu is an action against the Yoruba nation.
“We must defend the Yoruba nation. They
are encroaching. They are harassing; they are depriving us of our
legitimate rights. Those who toiled day and night are now victims of
circumstances.
“Nothing must happen to Tinubu, Falae
and others. This is the way they started with (Obafemi) Awolowo and (Pa
Michael) Ajasin,” he cautioned.
Fayose said the effort of the Ooni to unite the Yoruba had started yielding results, urging him to sustain it.
He advised Yoruba leaders to avoid a
situation that led to the rivalry between Awolowo and the late Samuel
Akintola in the western region.
The governor lamented that there was
hunger in the land and he appealed to the Federal Government to evolve
policies that would change things for the better.
He also condemned the activities of herdsmen that were destroying farm produce across the country.
“They asked us to go back to farming and
they released their cows to be eating our farms. Any cattle that
destroy farmlands will be seized by the government,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ogunwusi has called for tact
in the handling of the threat posed by herdsmen across the country,
especially in the South-West region of the country.
Speaking with journalists, Ooni, who
said Ekiti had the power to enact laws, called for a careful handling of
the threat posed by herdsmen.
He said he was impressed by the thousands of people that trooped out to receive him and he called for prayers for the governor.
Adejugbe expressed joy at the visit even
as he recalled that two departed Oonis, Oba Adesoji Aderemi and Oba
Okunade Sijuwade, visited the Ewi in 1937 and 1980 respectively.
He charged the Ooni to continue to unite Yoruba monarchs and sustain the growing unity among Yoruba people.
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