THE governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has said he will not relent in his efforts to serve his fellowmen and declared a fast to mark his 56th birthday.
In a statement on Monday to commemorate the occasion, Fayose condemned the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government for abolishing the middle class in Nigeria by allegedly bringing untold hardship on the people.
In the statement entitled: “I stand for Nigeria”, Fayose said: “I use this occasion to solidarise with our people who are suffering and lacking the basic necessities of life at a level never seen before in this country.
“It will make no meaning for me to be celebrating birthday in the face of the muzzling, arm-twisting, ridiculing and blackmailing of the judiciary, legislature and the opposition in the name of anti-corruption war.
“When a democratically elected government embarks on systematic efforts to kill the opposition, legislature and subjugate the judiciary, it is no time for lovers of democracy like myself to pick samba and tambourine to celebrate birthday.
“Rather than wine and dine, which, usually, is the hallmark of birthday celebrations, I shall spend today, fasting, meditating and praying to God that he should graciously and mercifully intervene in the affairs of our great country, Nigeria, which, regrettably, has been laid prostrate by this clueless, fumbling and wobbling administration.”
Fayose added that he would dedicate the occasion of his birthday “to the desperately poor, the poor, and the once vibrant middle class Nigerians that have now been reduced to an unprecedented level of marginalisation, untold suffering and virtual nothingness.”
He said he pitched his tent with the poor, saying “I pitch my tent with you; I stand with you, by you, and for you. I shall never be tired of speaking for you.
“When they call me the unofficial leader of opposition, they, in their own warped understanding and pervert thinking, seek to disparage me.”
According to him, he considered it a mark of honour to be the recognised mouthpiece of the suffering Nigerians, saying “I accept this title as a great privilege and call to duty, which I considered sacred.”
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