Nigeria’s former Minister of Mines and Steel Development and gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi on Tuesday recounted how God saved him from Friday’s shooting at a rally organized in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

Speaking at a rally where a former Minister of Works and erstwhile gubernatorial aspirant of the Peoples Democratic (PDP), Dayo Adeyeye formally joined the APC, Fayemi said Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, former federal lawmaker, Opeyemi Bamidele  and Mr Adeyeye would also have been killed if not for divine intervention.

“We thank God that we are alive. What do you think would have happened if Gov. Akeredolu, Adeyeye, Bamidele and I had died? It was possible for the bullets to have hit and killed all of us, but we thank God. We are grateful that God just prevented it.

“The unprecedented crowd we saw at the welcome reception organized for me and how people were rushing out shows that Ekiti people are determined to fight a liberation war against Governor (Ayo) Fayose,’’ he said.

 Fayemi said he remained undaunted by the incident, vowing that the July 14 election will mark the end of the Fayose administration in the state. He assured Adeyeye and his followers that they remained respectable leaders of the party who will not be shortchanged if APC eventually wins the poll.

While describing Adeyeye’s defection as a boost which help him achieve victory in the July 14 governorship elections, Fayemi said the party would work hard with interest groups across the 177 wards to ensure that PDP was defeated.

 Fayemi also denied an allegation that he would sack teachers, saying his return would only add value to the lives of civil servants.

In his remarks, Mr Adeyeye said he and his supporters decided to join the APC because of the personality of Fayemi.

“He is highly educated and exposed, he is not crude like somebody else; we are going to deliver our votes for him,’’ he said.