‘Nigeria is a bad country, I’m now like an orphan’ – Fayose laments abandonment by politicians he supported

Isaac Fayose, younger brother of former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, has expressed disappointment over what he described as abandonment by politicians he supported during previous elections.

The businessman said he now feels like “a lonely voice in the wilderness” after making personal and financial sacrifices for political figures who, according to him, later turned their backs on him.

Fayose made his feelings known in a video posted on his Instagram page on Friday, where he spoke partly in Pidgin English and Yoruba.

“Nigeria is a bad country. Very bad. I’m now like an orphan. I’m now like a lonely voice in the wilderness,” he said.

Fayose recalled his ordeal from 2018, when he stood by his brother during the latter’s face-off with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

He said he personally confronted the then acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, over the matter.

“I struggled with my brother. No, no, no, no, we won’t agree. I even followed him to EFCC. We shouted, ‘Magu, Ole! Magu, Ole!’ Magu said, ‘Who is this boy calling me Ole? They should go and look for anything to rope him.” he said.

Ayo Fayose was arraigned by the EFCC in 2018 over alleged fraud linked to his tenure as governor and later regained his freedom on bail.

He was succeeded that October by Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress, who defeated the PDP’s candidate in the governorship election.

Isaac said the matter was still trailing him in court to this day, even as his brother’s child was set to be sworn in as a member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly.

“Up till today, they still rope me into a matter that I am still going to court for. That my brother now has taken an appointment. His child is about to be a member of the House of Assembly in Ekiti.

“I’m now on my own, facing my problem. They said, ‘We told you, Isaac, keep quiet, keep quiet.’ You didn’t listen,” he said.

He also spoke about the personal cost of his political involvement, saying he cut short his mourning to answer a call for help ahead of Ekiti’s 2026 governorship election.

“What a pity. See Ekiti. I went to bury my wife. Where I was, Oluyede called me. He said, ‘Please, please, let’s take our state back.’ I see how people are suffering. I said no, I was coming.

“I quickly buried my wife and hurriedly ran home. I got home, spent my money, did everything, election eve,” he said.

He was referring to Wole Oluyede, the PDP governorship candidate for the June 20, 2026 Ekiti election.

Oluyede’s path to the poll has been turbulent, his November 2025 primary win was nullified by a Federal High Court, and INEC later excluded his name from its candidate lists over the PDP’s national leadership crisis, though his camp has gone to court to compel its inclusion.

He is running against the incumbent, Biodun Oyebanji of the APC, who is seeking a second term.

Isaac said the associate had since distanced himself from him.

“They were calling me, ‘Oga is here, Oga wants to talk.’ Oluyede has not come to greet me since that time. He has gone back to the President. And even the governor that I was fighting, they are taking pictures together. They are now friends,” he said.

Isaac also referenced Osun State’s governorship politics, recalling both the 2022 election and the more recent one held on August 15, 2026.

“Look at Osun, 2022. I nearly removed my head,” he said, referring to the personal toll of his involvement that year, when Ademola Adeleke first won the governorship on the platform of the PDP, defeating the then-incumbent, Gboyega Oyetola of the APC.

He said he was drawn into the governor’s re-election bid this time as well, despite being in Australia when the call came.

“This time too, as I was in Australia, the governor of Osun called me, Governor Adeleke. He said, ‘Isaac, we need you on board the election.’ I put everything on my head. We won’t agree, we won’t agree,” he said.

Adeleke, who has since defected from the PDP to the Accord Party, was declared winner of the August 15 election by INEC, polling 511,067 votes to defeat the APC’s Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815.

Isaac said the governor travelled to Abuja shortly after his victory to show his certificate of return to President Bola Tinubu, a gesture he described as a betrayal of the loyalty he had shown during the campaign.

“Six days after, the governor is in Abuja, showing his certificate, his return certificate, to the President. It’s like I’m alone. What a pity,” he said.

Drawing a comparison with reconciliations elsewhere, he cited the public rapprochement between singer Davido and Rivers State Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike.

“Davido that we were shouting, he and Wike are now hugging each other. Everybody is now smiling with each other together,” he said.

Isaac said he had turned down cash and a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon offered to him during past elections, insisting that his interest was in the welfare of his people rather than personal gain.

He, however, decried the culture of vote-selling among the electorate, saying many still sold their votes despite the sacrifices made on their behalf.

“They came to meet me, they gave me money, I said I don’t want. They gave me G-Wagon, I said I don’t want. I want my people to go. Even the people I was fighting for, election day, they will sell their vote again,” he said.

He said he was alone in recognising the state of affairs in the country, but described himself as isolated in speaking out against it.

“It’s now like I’m the only one seeing the rubbish going on in my country. I am now alone, now looking like a zombie. It’s lonely at the top,” he said.

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