THE Ekiti State government has rejected a planned visit to the state by a former governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, saying the former governor should rather take his peace advocacy to other parts of the country where there is insecurity of life and property.
A statement by the government, on Saturday, said Kalu, who is the Chairman, Advisory Board for the National Movement for Re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari, should not bring his peace advocacy to Ekiti which it said the Police had even adjudged as “the most peaceful state in the country.”
In the statement by the special assistant to Governor Ayodele Fayose on Public Communications and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, Ekiti government noted that the former Abia governor “has embarked on a tour of the South West purportedly to advocate for peace, fairness and unity of the country with a view to rallying support for the President’s second term bid in 2019.”
Fayose said Kalu should “take his advocacy for peace to other parts of the country where security of lives and properties of Nigerians is under threat, not Ekiti State that even the Police adjudged as the most peaceful State in the country.”
He added that “there is no threat to peace and unity of Nigeria from Ekiti State for anyone, including Orji Kalu to address. Therefore, he should not expect to be welcomed to any palace in Ekiti State.”
Governor Fayose called on traditional rulers in Ekiti State to ignore the former Abia State governor, saying “it is an insult on the collective sensibilities of Ekiti people, whose only benefit from the government of President Buhari is hardship occasioned by the government’s cluelessness, for anyone to hide under advocacy for peace to canvass support for the President.”
The statement said: “If he has sold his own conscience to them, agenda of selling an already rejected product to Nigerians, we in Ekiti State have not, and we are telling him categorically that such advocacy is not welcome in our state.
“He should rather take his peace and unity advocacy to his own state and other states where Nigerians are being killed on daily basis by armed bandits.
“It is also ridiculous that instead of joining Nigerians to tell the President the truth about the state of affairs in the country, Kalu is castigating Nigerians that have summoned the courage to speak out against the President through letters and public comments.”