By Bukola OlasanmiÂ
A former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has revealed the presidential candidate he will support in the 2023 elections.
According to Fayose, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has his support.
Fayose, a member of the PDP, expressed his support for Atiku during an interview on Channels TV, Thursday night.
There have been speculations in recent times that Fayose’s body language gives him away; and that he is likely to support Bola Tinubu of the APC who hails from the southwest and is a fellow Yoruba man.
Fayose, however, stated that he will not insult the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, even though they are not in the same political party.
He said, “Let me tell you, if people are expecting me to insult Tinubu to show that I am not supporting him, I would not do that.”
Fayose further stated that despite the political differences some northern governors or politicians have with President Muhammadu Buhari, they don’t resort to insulting him.
ALSO READ: 5 PDP Governors working against Atiku’s Presidential bid
The former governor who described Tinubu as a Yoruba leader, said he respects Atiku the same way he respects the former Governor of Lagos State.
He said, “If the only way to demonstrate to everybody that I am Bola Tinubu’s enemy is to come out as a Yoruba man and insult Bola Tinubu, I will never do it.
“Listen to me, Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu are over 70 years old, why were they sitting together to rub minds and did not carry cutlasses against each other? Count me out of that (insulting Tinubu).
“I am not going to be insulting Atiku either.”
Fayose on Thursday also reiterated his stance on power shift to the southern region of the country.
He said, “As far as I am concerned, since President Buhari is about to complete his second term and is from the northern region, the southern part of the nation should produce Nigeria’s next president.”
Fayose stated that he will still work for the PDP, regardless of Wike’s rift with PDP Chairman Ayu.