By Ahmed Idris
The winner of the All Progressive Congress (APC) gubernatorial primary election in Ekiti state, Mr. Kayode Fayemi, said on Thursday that he would resign his appointment as Minister of Mines and Steel Development next week.
Fielding questions after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja, Fayemi said his action is based on constitutional provisions.
“The constitution is very clear. What the constitution says in Section 182 is that I must leave the cabinet at least 30 days before the general election.
“I am the candidate of our party and I am also the minister of the Federal Republic at least for the next one week. So, for the next one week, I am the Minister of Mines and Steel Development,” he said.
The minister said he is on a rescue mission in Ekiti, stressing that his co-contestants see the forthcoming election as a collective rescue mission.
“A critical hurdle has been crossed but we still have a major work to do. The important thing is to see this as a collective rescue mission and I am glad that mjy co-contestants have seen it in that light. I have met with all the co-contestants, I have broken fast with them.
“I have shared ideas with them, I have also extended an olive branch to them to be part of the candidate advisory council for this election, and they have all graciously agreed to do that. We are confident that the APC will carry the day but there are still a lot of work to do,” he said.
On Governor Ayo Fayose’s remarks that his emergence was a walk in the park for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as he would be roundly defeated, the minister said: “As far as
I am aware, Fayose is not on this ballot. We will deal with the candidate on this ballot and the track record that we have in Ekiti is what will sell us.”
