Ayo Fayose, former governor of Ekiti State, has said he became deeply upset during his 65th birthday celebration after remarks made by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, adding that the comments provoked him so strongly that he briefly felt like grabbing the microphone from the former president and striking him with it.

Fayose made the disclosure in a new interview in which he outlined the events surrounding preparations for the celebration and the exchanges that took place on the day.

He said that during the ceremony in Lagos, Obasanjo revisited their long-standing political rift and described him as “not the best” among his protégés, even while acknowledging his achievements in politics.

Fayose explained that two weeks before the event, he had made a personal decision to reconcile with several people he had clashed with over the years.

“Whatever differences we have had in the past, let’s put it behind. If I have offended you, if you have offended me, let us put it behind,” he said.

He stated that he contacted Obasanjo through a mutual associate, identified as Osita, who shared the former president’s phone number with him.

However, Fayose emphasised that the call to Obasanjo was not intended as an apology.
“I never called to go and apologise to Baba. I did not offend him. He was the one that removed me from office. If anybody should apologise, it is him,” he said.

He added that Obasanjo received him at his residence days before the celebration and expressed willingness to attend the birthday even though he had another scheduled engagement in Rwanda.

Fayose said Obasanjo also asked for assistance with travel arrangements, and in response, he provided funds to support the logistics.

“We took pictures together. All in good faith,” he said.

“I changed $20,000 and gave it to him. How can you accept somebody’s money and come and be spiting that person?”

Fayose said his concerns began when Obasanjo insisted that he should speak last at the event rather than the vice-president.

“Baba said he would be the one to speak last. I became suspicious,” he said.

According to him, Obasanjo later directed the programme moderator to invite the vice-president before him, after which he requested that Fayose and his wife stand beside him for a speech that lasted “one hour, 14 minutes”.

Fayose described the address as containing indirect criticisms.

“How do you say such things to a man on his 65th birthday?” he asked.

He said this was the point at which his frustration reached its peak.

“I was enraged. I felt like taking the mic from Obasanjo’s hand and hitting it on his head. This is being sincere,” he narrated.

He said he restrained himself out of respect for the office of the vice-president and a desire to maintain composure.

“But to show maturity, not by age, and the love I have for myself and the presence of the vice-president, I just kept my cool.”

Fayose said his attempt to reconcile was made “in good conscience”, but that Obasanjo’s conduct indicated he was not interested in a peaceful resolution.

“If I knew this was how it would end, what do I need Obasanjo for? Am I contesting election? Do I need his validation? No,” he said.

Gunmen suspected to be bandits attacked Isapa community in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, abducting a pregnant woman, 10 children, two nursing mothers, and several other residents during an overnight raid.

According to multiple accounts from within the community, between 20 and 30 armed men carried out the assault, moving through the settlement with a herd of cattle while shooting sporadically. Witnesses said the attackers operated with little resistance as they advanced.

During the invasion, an elderly woman was reportedly struck by a stray bullet, heightening panic among residents already attempting to flee from the gunfire.

A community leader who spoke to National Pilot confirmed that 11 individuals were taken away in the attack. He said the victims included seven people believed to be from the same household, further deepening concerns about the scale of the assault.

The abducted persons were identified as Talatu Kabiru, Magaji, Kande, Hadiza, Mariam, Saima, Habibat, Fatima Yusufu, Sarah Sunday, Lami Fidelis, and Haja Na Allah. Their families have since raised alarm as search efforts remain ongoing.

Reports indicate that the assailants escaped through bush routes linking Eruku to nearby villages, leaving the community in fear and uncertainty over their possible return.

Tuesday’s incident follows a similar attack two weeks earlier, when bandits stormed the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in the area, abducting 38 worshippers and killing some during the operation. Authorities later rescued all the kidnapped church members, though security concerns have persisted across the region.

Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo North and former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, has questioned the fitness of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to lead Nigeria, following Abubakar’s decision to join the African Democratic Congress.

Oshiomhole issued the criticism on Monday during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, shortly after Abubakar publicly confirmed his membership of the ADC. The former vice-president had earlier shared a photograph of himself holding his party card on X with the caption: “It’s official.”

The senator argued that Abubakar’s long-running difficulty in stabilising the Peoples Democratic Party undermines his present bid to reposition the country. According to him, the former vice-president has failed to demonstrate the capacity to provide direction within the PDP, despite decades of political influence.

Oshiomhole said, “If Atiku as a former vice-president under PDP could not fix PDP, he could not reconstruct it, and he could not provide leadership and use his influence which he had built, how can you lay claim to fix Nigeria?”

He linked Abubakar’s latest move to a pattern of political withdrawals, recalling that the former vice-president had also quit the APC after failing to secure its presidential ticket. Oshiomhole maintained that Abubakar only returned to the PDP for electoral purposes, yet “could not build” the party that once elevated him to the position of vice-president.

He added, “He was once a member of the APC. He left because he lost the party’s presidential ticket. He went back to the PDP. He’s so much in love with the PDP, at least for the purpose of contesting election. He could not build PDP. So, if Atiku can’t build the PDP that made him vice-president, he can’t fix Nigeria.”

Abubakar’s defection to the ADC follows his resignation from the PDP in July, after months of internal disputes that left the opposition party fractured ahead of the 2027 elections.