A former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has said he should not be held liable for whatever he might have said in the past.
Fani-Kayode said this on Thursday when he officially dumped the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The ex-minister was apparently alluding to some uncomplimentary remarks he had made about the APC when he was a member of the then ruling PDP and after the latter became the main oposition.
He said he joined the APC to put Nigeria first.
Fani-Kayode spoke after his introduction to President Muhammadu Buhari by Yobe State governor and Chairman of APC’s Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Mai Mala Buni, and Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle.
“…You can’t hold me to what I’ve said in the past, if circumstances change. I will always bow to superior argument and logic. For me, the primary cause today, and let me say this: there’s no way I will renege on my fundamental core values and principles. Anybody that knows me will tell you that.
“I believe in certain things; how the country should be moved forward. I will fight for that from within this party to ensure it’s done. I believe in fairness and equity. But the most important thing for us today is that we must not allow our country to fall apart, based on disagreement and misunderstanding amongst one another.
“I’ve recognised the fact that we’re very close to war. A lot of people don’t know this. God forbid we should go into that. We should come together and build it. If they criticise me for that, it’s their right to do so.
“I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings, but I’ve made a choice. I believe I’ve been led by the Spirit of God and I will fight the cause and fight for what I believe is right within this party as I would anyway. I will never give up on my core values and principles,” he said.
The former minister, who recalled that he was party of the founding of the ruling party in 2013, also said he decided to return to the party to retrieve the country from the crises besetting it and to show appreciation to the government for its efforts at restoring peace and security.
He said he participated in the defections of Governors Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Ben Ayade (Cross River) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara) to the ruling party.
Fani-Kayode hinted about the need for APC to woo some PDP stalwarts, including Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), into the APC.
Also, a member of the House of Representatives, Chisom Dike, yesterday dumped the PDP for APC.
Dike represents Tai/Eleme/Oyigbo Federal Constituency of Rivers State.
Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, who read Dike’s letter to the House during plenary, cited, among other things, the division in the PDP as the reason for the defection.
