Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose on Monday joined the long list of prominent Nigerians criticizing President Muhammadu Buhari for his recent appointment which most of them have described as ‘lopsided’, favouring only the north and conspicuously leaving out the other regions. But so far, Fayose’s reaction is the only one the presidency has directly responded to. In the statement Fayose released on Monday, he described Buhari’s style of governance since his emergence on May 29, 2015, as one that portrays him as a president of Northern Nigeria only. He stated that it was wrong for President Buhari to have made 31 major appointments and picked only seven from the South while 24 were from the North. This reaction, though seemingly harmless elicited a harsh reaction from the lawmaker representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Sen. Shehu Sani who condemned Fayose for criticizing Buhari in his statement before going on to describe the governor as a ‘glorified tout’. Nigerians have reacted to this and INFORMATION NIGERIA has gathered all the reactions using our platform. Here are some of the reactions;
Benson Adautin cautioned Sen. Shehu Sani for calling Fayose a ‘gloried tout’ as he said such words should not be heard from a distinguished Senator. Responding to Benson’s comment, Jeremy Boluwatife said “neither should a distinguished governor be caught saying that. Nowhere have I read online or anywhere else of any governor in the United States exhibiting uttermost incivility by lambasting and continuous lampooning of their president all in the name of freedom of speech”.
Musa Akwas got behind the Senator for describing Fayose as such. He went on to describe Fayose in the same manner saying “Fayose is a shameless and a lousy tout, he’s not worth a governor of a state like my dear EKITI, we know states where such tout’s befit’s”. Abubakar H. Baba was another person to support the Senator, as he said, “My Senator, you have said it all. You just described and position him where he belongs. However, I sympathize with the people of Ekiti state for having this clod as governor; a product of a corrupt process.
Iwuagwu Chinonso went in support of Fayose and not the Senator. He said “Fayose only said the truth and they (APC) are catching fever and running mad. What will they do if Fayose starts insulting Buhari as Amaechi did GEJ. I believe all these APC supporters were singing praises to Amaechi then. Please this is Naija and all Government must be criticized by the people so if APC is not ready for that they should just keep quiet”. Oliver Blues absolutely disagreed with Sen. Sani as he explained the reason the Senator is frustrated. Oliver said “Sani is suffering from political depression, and he is showing it everyday with the he fights El-Rufai because he missed out on the governorship seat in Kaduna. What Sani is trying to do right now he is to try to be close to Buhari so he can support him in 2019 governorship election instead of El-Rufai”.
Sunday Nwachukwu Ikpeka disagreed with Sen. Sani’s approach to responding to Fayose’s statement. He said “aside from any other thing, Fayose is a Governor of a state. Even if you don’t like him, you should respect the people of the state he governs. We must learn constructive criticism and respect for office. Fayose only criticized the action of the president, he did not insult him or his office. Even the religious books enjoin us to respect our leaders as leadership comes from God. I believe all our leaders are educated enough to understand this. Sani ought to have disagreed with Fayose’s view and place his instead. Therefore, he owes an apology to the people of Ekiti State”.
Oluwatuyi Taiwo Olusesan thinks Fayose’s criticism of Buhari’s appointment was constructive. He said “slamming Fayose is immaterial, just accept that Buhari is partial in the appointments. Northerners are not more qualified than any other part of the country. It is a gross abuse of power and the guy is setting a bad example and by the time it bounces back in subsequent regimes, the North should not cry foul”. In the same vein, Success Onovwiona Eriose Peters said “I don’t see anything wrong in what Fayose said; it’s the clear truth for Christ sake. Let’s be sincere for once in this time of change. It’s better you (Sen. Sani) keep your mouth shut when you know it’s the truth Mr. Fayose said, rather than criticise him to take side whit PMB’s wrong deed. We are no fools here, every move by PMB should show to us that he and his party have the interest of the whole nation regardless the party, or region at heart, he should give everyone a sense of belonging. Oga Fayose please say more jare”.
