The Okeyinmi Declaration: Address To All Ekiti People
My fathers and my mothers,
My brothers and my sisters,
The young and the old,
Great sons and daughters of Ekiti.
I come to you today with a heavy heart.
I come bearing the cries of the people all over our state.
I come carrying the weight of the broken hearts of our people.
I come because I have heard your voice and it’s time we do something to save our great state.
Our state is broken.
Our state has become the comic state.
Our state has been turned into a land of grief and pain.
Our people are hungry.
Our people are without jobs.
Our people are dying on our bad roads.
Our people need food on the table not a bridge to nowhere.
Our children need a land of hope.
Our state needs redemption.
Our state needs to be put back on the road to glory.
What wrong have we as Ekiti people committed?
Why must we be the comic fodder for the entire nation?
Why is a blessed state like ours so poor?
What did we do wrong to get here?
Can we continue like this?
I ask you, my brothers and sisters, can we continue like this?
The time has come for us to rescue our state.
The time has come for us to come together as a people and say to our oppressors “NO MORE”.
The time has come for us to walk away from the sidelines and challenge the rotten heads who have made our state a land of rot.
The time has come for us to raise our voices and be heard.
I say to you today, in this place, that our time has come.
Today, I declare my desire to be the next Governor of our great State.
Today, I ask you to join me in bringing sense back to our government house.
Today, I ask you, as a brother, son and father – to join me in taking our state back for the people and let us all work together as a people for the people.
Today is the day we begin the long march to a better state.
Today is the day we begin the journey to bring back better jobs to our state.
Today is the day we begin the long trek to reclaim the lost glory of our state.
So, I call on you today – you, my fathers and mothers, my brothers and sisters and all you residents of our great state.
Join me aboard our train of progress.
Together, we will change our fortunes for the better.
Together, we will re-create Ekiti into a state we can all be proud of.
Our friends on the other side will beg you to give them another chance.
They will promise to offer you what they’ve not been able to offer.
They may even promise to build you another bridge to nowhere.
But I know you will ignore them.
I know you will stand on the side of reason.
I know because the one thing they cannot take from us as Ekiti people is our intellect.
We know the truth.
We have suffered enough.
Don’t take my word for it.
Take your life and your standard of living for it.
If you’re better off today than you were four years ago, if you’re prouder of Ekiti State than you were four years ago, then maybe they are your man.
But, if you’re not and I know you’re not.
If you want a better life, a better Ekiti and a better future for our children.
Join us.
Let’s put our hands together and make our state a pace setter in Nigeria again.
This journey will not be easy.
We will have to climb mountains and swims through rivers.
We will walk long distances and drive to every nook and corner of the state.
We will have to prove the naysayers wrong.
We will have to work harder than we’ve ever done before.
But, I promise you, our work will not be in vain.
On that glorious morning when victory becomes ours and the sun rises again over our state, you will raise your hands and say, “I saved my state”.
God bless you.
And may God bless our great state.
Address At the State Party Secretariat
I bring you warm greetings from the Director-General, leaders and members of the Ekiti Rebirth Organisation (ERO). I thank you for accepting to receive us on this beautiful Friday afternoon, despite your tight schedule and engagements. I thank you for holding the fort. I thank you for standing firm and staying strong. I thank you for keeping the fire burning. I thank you for keeping the hope of Ekiti people alive, for reassuring them that a new dawn is near.
I have come before you today to formally express my intention to vie for the Office of the Governor of Ekiti State on the platform of the winning party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming election on July 14, 2018.
Since the criminal in Ekiti government house began his show of shame in 2015, I have been having conversations with Ekiti sons and daughters, as well as well-meaning Nigerians who are friends of Ekiti, on how we can salvage or dear state and restore her glory. Over the past one year, I have intensified efforts by going round our dear but battered state, in my capacity as the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, as a chieftain of the APC, and as a son of Ekiti. I have met with all stakeholders in every local government, from Efon to Ekiti East, from Ikere to Moba. One thing that became crystal clear to me after engaging with our members across the State is that the challenges of the past three and a half years have prepared and galvanized our people for action. They are yearning for a positively different life and are ready to do whatever it takes to re-launch our party to liberate Ekiti. From our interactions, we are in agreement that without good governance, we cannot liberate our people; we cannot provide jobs for our ever-increasing population of unemployed and underemployed young men and women; we cannot ensure the education, health and wellbeing of all; there can be no meaningful development, and consequently no prosperity.
We all know that it is not going to be easy to root out the terror in the government house. Dislodging Ayo Onijibiti who has spent the past three and a half years preparing for his return through a proxy is going to be a battle. It will take more than good intentions. It will take a dogged fighter with courage and experience; passion and commitment; knowledge and hard work, among others.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, all my life, I have battled oppressors at all levels to a standstill. Whether as a pupil, student, journalist, legislator, or as an executive, I have always believed that another Ekiti and indeed another Nigeria is possible. As a result of this conviction, I have led others to rise up and take action, to fight the good fight for the advancement of our State and country.
As the process for electing a governor in Ekiti inches closer and closer, I am resolute in my mission to lead the APC to victory on July 14, 2018. I cannot wait for that day when we will all raise our brooms up in victory, and lower it to the ground in gratitude to the people to sweep the years of the locusts out of our land. I know that I have all it takes to get Ekiti back to reckoning. I know that with your support, we can restore the honour of our people. I know that when we link hands, we can all stand tall and be proud again.
I implore you to come with me on this journey so that together we will make CHANGE and PROGRESS happen in Ekiti State.
Once again, I thank you most sincerely for receiving us and I thank you all for your attention.
God bless you all. God bless the All Progressives Congress. God bless Ekiti State. God bless Nigeria.
