Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti state, on Thursday revealed that he drove trucks before he was elected number one citizen of the state.
Fayose was first elected in 2003 but he was impeached three years later.
However, he returned in 2014 after defeating Kayode Fayemi, then the incumbent governor, in the year’s governorship election, and has spent two years in his new term.
In a message posted on Twitter, Fayose charged people to be proud of their professions.
“We must be proud of our profession. I sell trucks, I did haulage, I can drive this truck to Lagos. I did this before I became governor,” he wrote.
Last year, he told members of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) in his state that he was once a commercial driver.
“I was once a driver like you. I used the money I got from driving to sponsor myself for HND at Ibadan Polytechnic. Being a driver, you can make it in life. You will become what you want to become in life through hard work,” he had said.
“Don’t join evil gang for you to get rich overnight. Though I am part of you, if you breach the law, I won’t spare you. I don’t want to be the enemies of drivers, I want to be your friend.”
After driving a tipper round some streets of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose also reiterated the need for individuals to be proud of their chosen means of livelihood, saying there is dignity in Labour.
Fayose said he was into truck business before becoming the governor of the state.
Fayose who emphasized that he would continue to act as a common man, stressed that he does not do anything to impress anyone as he is accustomed to the way of life of an ordinary man.
He encouraged people of the state to remain hardworking and committed, noting that diligent people are bound to rise to greater heights irrespective of their academic background and social status.
”This is what I do, I sell trucks, I’m involved in haulage, I can even drive this truck to Ibadan and even Lagos, this is what I have been doing before I became governor and I must continue working even after my tenure, so I don’t see anything special in this”, the governor said.
