By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has said former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s remarks at his 65th birthday celebration in Lagos left him so upset that he momentarily felt like grabbing the microphone from the ex-president and hitting him with it.
Obasanjo had attended the event where he revisited his long-running political disagreements with Fayose. While acknowledging the former governor’s achievements, he also described him as “not the best” among his political protégés.
In an interview with AF24 News, shared on the platform’s YouTube page on Monday, Fayose narrated what transpired at the ceremony and the days leading up to it.
According to him, two weeks before the event, he had made up his mind to mend fences with several political rivals and reached out to Obasanjo through a mutual acquaintance, Osita Chidoka, who provided the former president’s contact.
“Whatever differences we have had in the past, let’s put them behind us. If I have offended you, if you have offended me, let us put it behind us,” he said.
Fayose explained, however, that his call to Obasanjo was not an apology.
“I never called to go and apologise to Baba. I did not offend him. He was the one who removed me from office. If anybody should apologise, it is he,” he said.
He stated that Obasanjo received him warmly at his home before the celebration and assured him he would attend the event despite having another engagement in Rwanda. At Obasanjo’s request, Fayose said he made travel arrangements and provided funds.
“We took pictures together. All in good faith. I changed $20,000 and gave it to him. How can you accept somebody’s money and come and be spitting on that person?” he asked.
According to Fayose, the atmosphere changed when Obasanjo insisted on giving the final remarks at the ceremony, placing his speech after the Vice President’s slot.
“Baba said he would be the one to speak last. I became suspicious,” he said.
He claimed the former president later instructed the moderator to call Vice President Kashim Shettima ahead of him and asked that Fayose and his wife stand beside him throughout a speech that lasted “one hour, 14 minutes.”
During the address, Fayose said Obasanjo repeatedly referred to him as “not the best” of his protégés, a comment he found disrespectful at a milestone celebration.
“How do you say such things to a man on his 65th birthday?” he asked.
He added that he chose not to react out of respect for the Vice President and to avoid disrupting the event.
“But to show maturity, not by age, but by self-respect and out of consideration for the vice-president’s presence, I kept my cool,” he said.
Fayose insisted that his attempts to reconcile were genuine but said Obasanjo’s conduct showed he was uninterested in peace.
“If I knew this was how it would end, what do I need Obasanjo for? Am I contesting the election? Do I need his validation? No,” he said.