The Catholic Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, Most Rev. Felix Ajakaiye, has described the wife of Ekiti State Governor and founder of Ekiti Development Foundation, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, as a gift from God to the entire world.
Bishop Ajakaye, who spoke at a special thanksgiving service to mark the 50th birthday of Erelu Fayemi at the Government House Chapel, Ado-Ekiti, on Tuesday, urged the celebrant not to lose hope in God or derail in her pursuit of truth.
While lamenting the poor attitude of people to maintenance culture, the cleric advised Nigerians to make use of their God-given gifts to make positive impact on their generation.
The Catholic Bishop, who lauded the philanthropic life style of the celebrant, urged Nigerians to emulate the life of the celebrant by multiplying wealth and not poverty.
Ajakaiye also used the opportunity to congratulate the first family for the wonderful work they are doing to transform the state to an enviable height.
Erelu Fayemi, who was full of praises and thanks to God, said words were not enough to describe how elated she felt attaining the golden age.
The governor’s wife, who also appreciated God for all the challenges she had faced while growing up, thanked God for his love and support for her husband and children who had given her the opportunity to carry out her professional career without hitch.
She said: “The journey has been full of ups and downs, full of challenges, triumphs, and travails and looking back now, I just thank God that I have had more cause to laugh and rejoice in my life than I have cause to cry and regret.”
The celebrant prayed God to continue to grant her good health so that by the time she would clock 60 she would still be strong and be able to run around to achieve her desired goals.
She said despite the fact that her father was very strict, he was very proud of her, which gave her a lot of confidence to aspire and achieve greatness in life.
She said: “So, coming from that kind of background gave me a lot of confidence.
“It boosted my self-esteem through life, through school, through going back to the United Kingdom, getting married, being part of a political family has taught me that it is important to stand up for what I believe in.”
In his remarks, the husband of the celebrant and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said the faithfulness and commitment of his wife to God was an impetus towards achieving success in his struggles.
Fayemi added: “If my wife had not been a faithful person, if she had not been a committed person, if she had not been a trusted person, I can always say with certainty that I won’t be standing before you as the governor of this state.”
He commended his wife for always being there for him as his source of encouragement and a pillar of support through both good and hard times.
He said: “I’ll like to say that she is a quite pillar behind the scene, but definitely she is not and she is not a silent supporter either.
“She is very active.
“To some people, too active to a fault.
“But I genuinely feel that not only has Ekiti got two for the price of one but that they are not even sure sometimes who is governor.”
