The visit of former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode to President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday has rattled the All Progressive Congress (APC), the party which Fani-Kayode belongs.
Many of the party members never knew that Fani-Kayode had been planning the visit to the president, who is believed to have invited him.
Now, members of the party are apprehensive, some arguing that Fani-Kayode has been won by President Jonathan and that he may be given a powerful position in the administration to keep him shut against the heavy criticisms against Jonathan, his government and heads of the various parastatals.
At the Presidential Villa where he met President Jonathan in a closed-door meeting, Fani-Kayode described the president and all those working with him as wonderful people, though he did not state what he meant by that.
Though, he declined to discuss the issue at the meeting with media men, there is the belief that the president wants him to buy into his side and stop his criticisms against him and government. And to do this, he must be given a position.
It is however not known if Fani-Kayode would accept any such appointment from President Jonathan.
Asked what happened at the meeting, Fani-Kayode reminded State House correspondents that where they stood was part of the Presidential Villa and the president is the president of Nigeria.
“Every single person in this country that is a Nigerian is entitled to come here from time to time, when the doors are open to come and pay their respect to the wonderful people that are here. As a Nigerian, I have done that today and I’m delighted to be here”, he said.
“I have always believed that every Nigerian, regardless of the side of the political divide they belong, and as a Nigerian myself, I have believed that we disagree on an issue from time to time.
“The most important thing is for us to be able to resolve these issues, come together to move this country forward. And I think every right-thinking responsible person should be able to do that. They should also be able to come to the Villa from time to time to see how they can help to move the country forward”.
Fani-Kayode used the opportunity to slam his own party, the APC, accusing it of favouring one religion against another, signalling that he had become tired of APC. He said his decision would be announced soon.
“The most important thing — and I think you are fully aware of this — is that I cannot and I will not be associated with a situation whereby any group of people is promoting a religion above another.
“I think all of us have gone past the stage of religious politics in this country. We must treat the Muslim community with utmost respect and we must treat the Christian community in the same way and even the non-religious”.
Some of the APC members who spoke with Huhuonline.com said Fani-Kayode and some people within the party had argued in favour of the Christians in the party.
“Most of the top members are Muslims and it just shows that the APC is a party that favours a religion above another, as Fani-Kayode has said.
“The most worrisome thing now is the fact that the major top two in the party, I mean Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, have chosen themselves as the Presidential candidate and the Vice-presidential candidate for the party in 2015. Members of the party are not happy with this, because it is a disservice to Christians there.
“Moreover, Tinubu and Buhari should have jettisoned this interest because it amounts to greed. They are better off as elder statesmen being in the background and supporting the many qualified members who may have serious interest in the presidential election”, one of the party members said, sounding a warning that some more members would defect from the party soon.
