Fayemi: I took permission before leaving south-west leaders’ meeting

Kayode Fayemi, minister of mines and steel, says he took permission before leaving the meeting some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had with the party’s Ekiti governorship aspirants.

The APC leaders at the meeting which held in Abuja on Tuesday, were Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the APC;  Bisi Akande, pioneer chairman of the party; Segun Osoba, former Ogun state governor; Niyi Adebayo, former Ekiti state governor; and Pius Akinyelure; zonal vice chairman of the APC in the south-west.

Fayemi, one of the 33 aspirants seeking the APC ticket in Ekiti, left when the meeting was on break and he did not return when the party leaders reconvened for the second part.

He also refused to speak with reporters who approached him.

Ayo Arise, a former senator and an aspirant, did not also attend the second meeting.

In a statement by Yinka Oyebode, his media aide, the minister said he did not return because he had another meeting.

He said there was no basis for him to storm out of the meeting which was called by the leaders to proffer way forward for the party, in the face of the rescheduled Ekiti governorship primary.

“It is thus worrisome reading reports of purported ‘walk out’ on our leaders when nothing like that actually took place,” he said.

Violence marred the primary election of the party on Saturday.

In a statement he issued after the the botched primary, Fayemi accused Babafemi Ojudu, a presidential aide, and Bimbo Adaramola, a former member of the house of representatives, of conspiring to thwart the exercise

The APC has fixed May 11 for a fresh primary.