Defection: I Was Wrong About Buhari In The Past, Says Fani-Kayode After Joining APC

By Our Correspondent

Former Minister of Aviation, Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, on Thursday said he was wrong about some of his criticisms of the Muhammadu Buhari administration in the past.

Fani-Kayode, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, attributed his actions in the past to the fact that he did not know the President so well at the time.

“It is absolutely clear to me that the perception that we had in the past, that many people had, is clearly wrong,” he said. “We can work together, we can come together, we can build bridges, we can effect unity in this country.

“A man that I believe would not listen to anybody else in the past, I was quite wrong on that. With his receptive ears, his reception, and those around him; I have seen that definitely this is a man that one can work with provided you go through the right channels.”

The former minister spoke hours after he met with President Buhari where he was formally introduced as the newest member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He was led to the meeting with the President by the APC National Caretaker Committee Chairman and Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, as well as Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State.

Not An Angel, Not A Demon

Fani-Kayode, a former chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and strong critic of the President, explained his decision to return to the ruling party.

According to him, he criticised the President in the past and done that effectively when he felt it was appropriate to do so.

“However, having moved closer to him (Buhari) over the last few months, I have discovered a lot of things that I did not know before; there is a lot going on behind the scenes,” the former PDP chieftain said.

“The most important thing is this – if I believe in a certain philosophy or I believe that we should move in a certain direction, and I am getting positive responses when I act from within the family as it were, and do so behind closed doors and ensure that change is effected in terms of policy, the way in which the country is run, the way in which disputes are settled among our various people and in terms of war against terror, and I get positive results on the consequence of my personal contributions at various levels; then I have to respect that.

“Over the last few years, I spoke against him (Buhari) probably more than anybody else in this country. I am not saying Mr President is an angel and I am certainly not saying he is a demon; I am saying he is a man like every other man.”

Despite moving to the APC, the former minister insisted that he would never change in terms of his core values and principles.

He vowed to carry such core values and principles into the ruling party and owed nobody an apology for taking such a decision.