The recent move by the former Minister of Aviation, Femi-Fani Kayode to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) has widely been condemned by many political analysts due to his comments over the ruling party in the past, particularly about President Muhammadu Buhari.
While featuring in an interview on Channels Television’s “Politics Today”, FFK said he will be joining the party from Abuja and not from any state in the South West region of the country. This decision may confirm some speculations about him as he may not have the chance to contest for any political position from Abuja.
Although FFK might have all the requirements to contest for any elective position in Abuja, but average Nigerians can tell that our mental parlance would not welcome a situation where a known South West man will contest and will election in any northern state, including the FCT. Average Nigerians would not dispute the notion that rigging plays a prominent role, if, for instance, FFK wins senatorial election to represent a constituency in Abuja in the forthcoming elections.
Originally, the son of the former Deputy Premier of the defunct Western Region of Nigeria was from Ife, presently in Osun state. However, the Minister has been silent about his state of origin, the constituency that his father thrived politically.
The move of FFK to join the ruling party has been condemned by prominent members of the APC and the leading opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Senator representing Abia South in the National Assembly, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, in his opinion, condemned the move of the former minister and posited that the move confirmed how Obasanjo described FFK.
While speaking on AriseTV, the Senate minority leader said, “I do not want to dwell on his issue. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had said it all before ‘Femi Fani-Kayode is my boy. Provide him food, he will eat and then sing for you. He’s a smart boy.”
Also condemning the move, the Special Adviser to Governor Sanwo-Olu of Lagos on Drainage and Water Resources, Joe Igbokwe, said, as reported by Vanguard, “Fani-Kayode is coming to destroy the party. FFK has no electoral value and is not a politically stable man. He thrives where there is something to feast on.”
It will be sane for the political space if FFK can explain his silence about his hometown since he cåme into the political limelight, and explain why he will be joining the ruling party from Abuja. This will add more political credibility to his prominence in the Nigerian space as well as debunk the notion his political critics have presented to the Nigerian public.
