Kayode Fayemi, the immediate past governor of Ekiti State may not be considered as a minister in the Bola Tinubu-led government.
Tinubu is expected to name his ministers and other top government appointees latest May 30, 2023, sources close to the ‘President-elect’ have said.
He will be sworn in as President on May 29, to succeed Muhammadu Buhari who is finishing his second term in office.
According to a Sahara Reporters report, Fayemi had been lobbying for appointment in the cabinet of Tinubu.
The former governor, according to multiple sources is ‘hustling’ to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
However, the move was said to have been rejected by Tinubu despite appeals and pressure from some serving governors including Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and Mohammed Badaru of Jigawa State.
“He (Fayemi) has asked Governor Wike, Governor Badaru and others to pressure Tinubu to give him a ministerial slot as foreign affairs minister but it was rejected by the incoming president.
“Tinubu snubbed him, saying he’s not the only person from Ekiti State,” a source was quoted to have said.
The report also claimed the reason Fayemi recently begged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to allow him to move his invitation date is that he heard that Tinubu would announce his cabinet before May 30, 2023, and he believed his inclusion would help him fend off the anti-graft agency.
Fayemi recently pleaded with the EFCC to allow him to present a book in honour of Buhari on May 19, before honouring the agency’s invitation for questioning over money laundering allegations.
In a letter dated May 12, the commission asked the ex-Ekiti governor to appear before the head of its zonal command office in Kwara, Nigeria’s North-Central, to answer questions bordering on money laundering activities.
According to the letter issued by its zone commander, Micheal Nzekwe, the EFCC requested that Fayemi should appear before it on May 18.
However, the former governor said he would not honour the invitation on that day because he is preparing for a public presentation and launch of two new books in honour of President Buhari.
He also said he had committed himself to other programmes between May 19 and 24 before he received the invitation.
The relationship between Tinubu and Fayemi dates back to the mid-90s during the struggle for democracy in Nigeria.
In 2007, Fayemi was Tinubu’s anointed candidate for the governorship election in Ekiti.
However, he lost the election to Governor Segun Oni of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) amid widespread reports of vote rigging.
Fayemi challenged the results in court, backed by a legal team, supported by the current Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and Tinubu.
He eventually became governor in 2010 but his relationship with Tinubu began to deteriorate a few years later.
In 2021, Fayemi was among the governors accused of masterminding the sacking of APC chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, seen as being subservient to Tinubu and backing his presidential ambition.
The former governor is one of the aspirants who stepped down for Tinubu during the APC presidential primary election in 2022.
