Kayode Fayemi, former governor of Ekiti state, says he nearly turned down
former President Muhammdu Buhari’s ministerial appointment in 2015.
Fayemi served as minister for
solid minerals from 2015 – 2018.
In an interview published
by ThisDay on Tuesday, Fayemi said his announcement as minister for solid
minerals came to him as a surprise, adding that he thought he was going to be
appointed minister of foreign affairs.
The former Ekiti governor said he had made up his mind to inform Buhari that he would not take up the appointment because he was “not prepared to mess himself up” as he knew nothing about the solid minerals ministry.
He further said Niyi Adebayo,
former minister of industry, trade and investment, along with his wife,
persuaded him not to tell Buhari that he would not accept the appointment.
“Before I became a minister, I
was director of policy for the presidential campaign and also worked in the
transition committee, so I had a comprehensive view of what was going on in the
Jonathan administration, but I was not prepared to go to the ministry I was
assigned to,” Fayemi said.
“When I was announced as the minister
for solid minerals, I must confess, I was surprised. I honestly thought I was
going to be minister of foreign affairs, an area in which I was a frontline
adviser for President Buhari during the period leading up to the election and
before ministers were announced.
“In fact, I was with President Buhari on his
last assignment at the United Nations before the ministerial list was released
on the day we returned from the United Nations.
“I got home after we were sworn
in and portfolios assigned and told my wife and our leader, Otunba Niyi
Adebayo, that I was going to inform President Buhari that I could not take the
appointment.
“What do I know about the
ministry? It was not even about being a dry or juicy ministry. I was not
prepared to mess myself up, after coming this far.
“I thought the ministry should go
to a subject matter expert. So, I decided I was not going to take it. But
Otunba said, no, that would be selfish and that I must put our people into my
consideration.
“I must take it. He added: “Kayode, your
strength is in managing people and resources, and you are going to take it and
make a statement. Having managed a whole state, you can manage anything.” And
my wife aligned with him.
“But I was still not convinced but
at least they stopped me from going to tell President Buhari I was opting out
of the cabinet.”
‘I GREW INTO THE JOB’
The former Ekiti governor added
that Buhari later explained to him that he deliberately appointed him as
minister for solid minerals.
He said that he took the
appointment as a challenge and grew into the job.
“Eventually, President Buhari explained to me that he was deliberate in sending me to the ministry because he had three priorities – infrastructure, agriculture and solid minerals development and he wanted excellent hands in the three areas,” Fayemi added.
“I took it up as a challenge and
I believe I grew into the job.
“In my three years there, we grew
the contribution of solid minerals as a percentage of GDP, developed a
comprehensive road map for the sector, started the aero-magnetic survey of the
country, which was completed during Architect Adegbite’s tenure, and also
conducted the national minerals exploration project amongst many other
initiatives.”
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