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Wife reveals what happened to Fayemi after 2014 election defeat

By Timileyin Omilana and Kehinde Sobowale
23 July 2018   |   4:04 pm
Trusted friends and allies deserted Kayode Fayemi after his failed reelection bid in 2014, his wife revealed in an op-ed The Guardian received on Sunday. Fayemi lost to Ayodele Fayose of People's Democratic Party (PDP) in an election marred by irregularities. He, however, won another term four years after on July 14 by defeating People's…

Erelu Bisi Fayemi

Trusted friends and allies deserted Kayode Fayemi after his failed reelection bid in 2014, his wife revealed in an op-ed The Guardian received on Sunday.

Fayemi lost to Ayodele Fayose of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in an election marred by irregularities. He, however, won another term four years after on July 14 by defeating People’s Democratic Party’s Olusola Eleka.

“Trusted friends and colleagues decided to dissociate themselves from us and seek political fortunes elsewhere,” Bisi Fayemi recounted.

“The lies, distortions, character assassination and revisions of history were almost unbearable. JKF was now irrelevant, finished, a persona non grata. Or so they thought.”

The election sent shockwaves through Nigeria’s political firmament. Many tried to explain the outcome but opinions remain undivided as to why a governor widely acknowledged to have performed well went down with a heavy defeat.

The election, which was held amidst the military and other security agencies, was “a disturbing narrative that no amount of logic could dislodge”, Fayemi said.

The British-Nigerian woman said while the 2014 election continued to generate debate and scrutiny, she had to leave the country three days later as she could not bear the hundreds of people coming to ‘mourn’ with them for the defeat.

“By Tuesday I could not bear the thought of more delegations coming to ‘mourn’ with us, so I left Ekiti for Ghana and switched off my phone.”

“Losing an election was not the end of the world as far as I was concerned. What came after was more devastating”, trusted friends and colleagues dissociate themselves from us to seek political fortunes elsewhere.

Despite the loss, she believed her family is “more than conquerors” and accepted what presented to her.
‘Our assignment in Ekiti is over. We would have liked to spend 8 years, but now God has told us that we are done for now.

“We have a lot to be thankful for. We will not mourn’. I knew I needed to be strong for my husband’s sake, so even if my heart was broken, my spirit was not.”

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