JKF Movement, a political pressure group canvassing support for the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has warned the governorship aspirants in the All Progressives Congress (APC) to stop their campaigns of hate against the minister, who is also former governor of the state.
The group's warning is in reaction to recent comments by some aspirants and their supporters against Fayemi's aspiration to contest the July 14, 2018 governorship election.
Leading the pack in a media analysis was Senator Femi Ojudu's supporter, Segun Dipe, who "denigratingly" dismissed Fayemi as not favoured to win the election while promoting Ojudu's candidacy.
This was followed by another aspirant, Dr Wole Oluyede, who not only criticised Fayemi's aspiration but also warned that APC would disintegrate if the minister contests the governorship election.
But reacting in a statement by JKF Movement's Director of Publicity, Kunle Omotayo, the group urged the aspirants and their supporters to concentrate on their aspirations to lead the state.
Omotayo said instead of dissipating energies on whether Fayemi should contest or not, aspirants should sell their programmes to the people and let others present themselves to the public to make a choice.
He said: "Programme appeal and public acceptance, and not attacks on Fayemi, will win for them and we use this medium to warn these individuals against acts that are anti-democratic and capable of threatening the party's unity, including undermining the integrity of APC's constitution and supremacy of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
"Fayemi has constitutional right to contest and so we wonder why some aspirants pre-occupy themselves working day and night to shut Fayemi out of the race as if Fayemi, who they all surmised cannot win election, is the albatross or worst nightmare to their ambitions.
"We particularly take exception to Dr Oluyede's ceaseless attacks on Fayemi in the media in spite of the party's warning to him to stop the act that can threaten the unity of the party.
"It is particularly baffling that after the party served Oluyede a warning on his attacks on other aspirants, his supporters through a press statement linked to his supporter, one Oyelere Ogunrogba, lapsed into a reckless blackmail binge, using Governor Ayodele Fayose's vindictive, persecutorial, worthless and unconstitutional White Paper to canvass a reason why Fayemi should not run."
Noting that APC was founded on constitutionally for the protection of the rights of members, he said the group was baffled that those who knew little or nothing about the establishment of the party were the ones threatening its disintegration if members exercised their legitimate right to contest election under the party.
"We wonder why Fayemi's aspiration is a nightmare to these aspirants. Dr Oluyede that is threatening that APC will collapse if Fayemi and Segun Oni are allowed to contest the election knew nothing about the pains that both Fayemi and Oni went through at the birth of the party.
"Instead of a reckless display of intolerance and this running down syndrome, we expect a level-headed display of democratic conduct among the contestants, which allows members to enjoy same privileges that political parties offer members in electoral contests.
"We hereby serve notice that this group will no longer accept any unwarranted attacks on our leader over his legitimate and constitutional right to contest election in the party he laboured to build.
"Those who want a party that will not allow other members to contest election with them can as well establish their own political parties where they can be sole candidates or be independent candidates that belong to no party if they cannot conduct themselves in competitive democratic norm allowed by political party system," Omotayo concluded.
Kunle Omotayo
Director of Publicity
JKF Movement
February 28, 2018
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