'He has been away for 53 days, it is time for President Buhari to resign' - Governor Fayose

Ekiti state Governor Ayodele Fayose has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to resign on account of ill-health.


According to the governor, the resignation would avail the president enough time to attend to his health and also allow the country to move forward.

Fayose, who addressed a news conference yesterday in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, said Buhari has been away for 53 days, carpeting presidential aides for shielding the president’s whereabouts from Nigerians.


The governor said: “Today, it makes 53 days since our President, Muhammadu Buhari, left Nigeria to attend to his health challenges abroad. No official information as to his whereabouts and his state of health.

“Like every other Nigerian, I do not wish the president dead. I have, therefore, maintained dignified silence since we were told that thePresident embarked on his second medical trip abroad this year.

“However, the recorded audio message which was released by thePresidency as the President’s Ramadan message to Nigerians necessitated my setting the records straight today. No doubt, the audio message was only a damage-control strategy aimed at further deceiving Nigerians.”

Fayose alleged that attempts were being made on his life for speaking out on issues of national importance.

He said: “In closing, let me state that I am not unaware of the various attempts on my life; I am undaunted as I remain committed to truth and fearlessness because a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

“Dear Nigerians, even though President Buhari needs our prayers and we should keep praying that God takes total control of his situation, it is equally imperative that our leaders must tell us the truth at all times.

“It is time that the President takes the interests of Nigerians above his own and resign from office so that our country can move forward.”

But, Senator Buruji Kashamu (Ogun East) faulted Fayose’s call.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday, the senator stated: “Nigerians overwhelmingly elected President Buhari and if today he is having challenges, it is despicable for any reasonable person to play politics with it because nobody is above health challenges.

‘It is unfair and condemnable for Fayose to continue playing God over the President’s health condition; his ridiculous comments are invariably heating up the polity and fanning the embers of disaffection amongst Nigerians.”

The Buhari Media Support Group (BMSG) yesterday criticised Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose for dishing out “cacophony of lies on the health of President Muhammadu Buhari”.

In a statement by its chairmen, Austin Braimoh, and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, the group said it was not surprised by the governor’s coments because of “his penchant for exhibiting the characteristics of a serial liar and a born agent of confusion over the years, who thrives in hate speeches and campaigns of calumny.”

It added: “BMSG believes that most Nigerians are already familiar with the infantile character of the Ekiti State accidental governor; Nigerians are already familiar with his antics.

“Fayose operates based on his figment of imagination as he will never disclose his source of information or show proof of his utterances.

“Today, the same character is telling us that the President is now on life support in London. If his assertions are right, then he needs to be told that it is an improvement to move from being dead to a life support.

“BMSG, therefore, appeals to the loquacious governor to allow the President recuperate peacefully and return to his duties.”