The winner of Ekiti governorship election, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has disclosed the secret behind his landslide victory last Saturday, saying he owes it to God and the way he relates with the masses.

According to him, he did not relate with the masses as governor but as their kinsman, friend and a man they could rely on whenever they were in need.

He said: “I owe my victory to God and the common man in Ekiti. It would be impossible for me to come back eight years after I left the government without their support.”

Fayose disclosed that throughout the three and a half years of his administration between 2003 and 2006, he was touching the lives of ordinary people in the state.

He said for someone who had left office about eight years ago to be having the kind of support he was enjoying from the people of Ekiti meant that they loved and believed in him.

The governor-elect described his impeachment as a conspiracy of the elite who wanted him out at all cost because he was seen as an advocate of the masses who continued to identify with the people.

He pleaded with the police to grant unconditional release to those being detained over the political crisis that dogged the just-concluded electioneering in the state.

Fayose also assured that his government would not abandon projects yet to be completed by the Governor Kayode Fayemi-led government, saying: “As leaders, we must learn how to embrace continuity because playing politics with the lives of the people can destroy any country, but love can keep us together forever as a nation.”

He promised to work with Governor Fayemi and Opeyemi Bamidele, the key contestants in the election, to build a virile society that would improve on the wellbeing of Ekiti.

“I am a grassroots man. I identify with my people. I hold them so dearly and I will continue in this trend,” he said.

The governor-elect thanked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting a credible poll, Fayemi and Bamidele for accepting defeat.

•Credit: Daily Sun. Photo shows Ekiti Governor-elect Ayo Fayose.

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