Buruji Kashamu is my benefactor, “but he can not bring Aeroland to succeed me” – Ayo Fayose

It is a statement of fact that anytime Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State speaks, either reasonably or otherwise, the first person to respond and deal him commensurate blows is actually Senator Buruji Kashamu, a fellow  member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Fayose’s  closest confidant and benefactor.

The relationship between Fayose and Kashamu was so tight that Fayose would admit to anyone that if Buruj had not come to his rescue financially, spiritually and morally, he would’ve lost the Ekiti governorship election, which he calls 16-0 against Fayemi and his party, All Progressives Congress (APC).

Fayose, according to sources, was a broke lone ranger, who nursed the ambition of completing what he calls his pact with his people.

He knew what the people wanted and he gave them, so they loved him but to actualize this, and displace a sitting governor who had a larger than life impression of himself and his achievements, he needed not only the support of the Federal Government but that of a fighter like him in the South West, where the likes of Chief Bode George and Senator Musiliu Obanikoro saw themselves as the Alpha and Omega.

A moral boosting financial assistance actually came from the centre and the person said to have stood like a rock behind a very broke, but confident Fayose was Patience Jonathan, who unknown to the husband, former president Goodluck Jonathan had done a popularity check on  Fayose in Ekiti.

While Jonathan got a different report from his so-called South West PDP leaders, who were rooting and positioning Prince Dayo Adeyeye to fly the flag of the party in the state, Patience Jonathan stood her ground and compelled her husband to back Fayose.

“It was like a dream to Ayo the day he was summoned to the see the first family, he was told to do his own part by getting the people behind him and leave the financial side to them.

We gathered that just as Ayo Fayose was taking his leave from the villa, a big time banker walked in, necessitating President Jonathan to call Ayo back and introduced him to the banker as his personal project in  Ekiti election.

Ayo reportedly told them he needed about N1.5 billion for the election, the banker took his number and told him calmly to await his call that night and Ayo left, still not too sure of what was going on.

“That same night, the top banker called and took some details from him, while also urging him to expect a call from one of his boys.

“In the morning, Fayose left Abuja for Lagos en route Ekiti to start his preparation with a renewed hope, as he switched on his mobile phone on getting out of the plane in Lagos, the first message that welcomed him was a credit alert of a humongous amount of money from the bank.

“That was how his turn- around story started; he won the party’s primary election in the PDP fashion and now started plotting his fight to unseat Fayemi.

“While he was confident of victory, the so-called leaders in the South West were singing the famous “maajolo mo nwe yin re” (we are at your back, you continue to move on) song to him and doing various things to undermine him, some even calling him “Joseph the dreamer.”

Here comes Buruji Kashamu, a self-made billionaire and stormy petrel, who also needed some form of security from the same people in the party, who were undermining Fayose.

“While planning for the election, Fayose broke down and was hospitalized.it was while he was on his hospital bad that he received a call from an unknown number, he picked the call and behold it was Kashamu, who was at the other end.

“Fayose told Kashamu his problem and Kashamu told him to hold on and handed the phone over to Patience Jonathan. She told him calmly to find his way to the villa as soon as he’s discharged from the hospital,” said a source.

We were informed that Fayose did not sleep in the hospital that day, he reportedly discharged himself from the hospital and took the next available flight to Abuja.

“Buruji Kashamu became a regular visitor and pillar of support for the Ayo Fayose group. They found out they had so much in common and have stuck together.

“Buruji and Ayo were common sights on the streets of various communities in Ekiti State; they ate together at local restaurants. Buruji knew what Ayo wanted, but lacked and he supplied those things in abundance; money rolled in various forms likewise things that were hitherto hard for the commons to get. Ayo Fayose adopted Buruji as his brother and they both won the elections.

After the elections, Ayo Fayose told everyone who cared that he owes all to God, Patience Jonathan, her husband and Buruji Kasham. Things were smooth and cool between them until Jonathan lost the election and despite Kashamu winning a senatorial seat in Ogun State, he was said to have started nursing the ambition of being the rallying point of PDP in the South West, a position Fayose felt he should’ve inherited much with the kind of victory he gave the party in the election.

Fayose was also said to have denied Kashamu his request to pick some of his commissioners, and not long after this, he heard that Kashamu had told Segun Adewale aka Aeroland, the defeated candidate of the PDP in the senatorial election for Lagos West to move his campaign machineries to Ekiti State in preparation to succeed Ayo Fayose after his tenure. This according to sources was where they started falling apart.

While Fayose acknowledged the support of Buruji before, during and after the election, he told him he would never yield his authority in Ekiti to anyone, and that if he could fight the centre and still retain the support of his people, Buruji could not break him.

He also said the choice of Segun Adewale as his successor would never fly in the state.

 “As you can see, he has never joined or utter any form of reply to all the attacks from the camp of Buruji. Buruji can say whatever he likes, he remains Ayo’s benefactor and Ayo never forgets any good done to him. So, Ayo will never insult or fight Buruji Kashamu,” our source stated.