3rd June, 2014
Femi Fani-Kayode claims he ditched the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) because of the party’s Islamic agenda.
Fani-Kayode made this disclosure in a statement on Monday 2 June. He explained that he left APC because he considered nation-building as more important than party politics, party affiliation or party formations.
He stated that being a devout and committed Christian he was more concerned about the good and future of Nigeria. “I cannot remain in a party where a handful of people that have sympathies for Boko Haram and that have a clear Islamic agenda are playing a leading role.”
The former Aviation minister who joined the APC in February this year explained that the more reason why he decided to quit was that some people are working hard silently to impose a Muslim/Muslim ticket on the party for next year presidential election.
Fani-Kayode who used to one of President Goodluck Jonathan’s fiercest critic said: “I believe that religion ought to play no part in politics but a situation where members of the Christian faith are not treated as equals and where all substantive positions of the national executive of the party are made up of almost exclusively Muslims is unacceptable to me.
Fani-Kayode, who claimed to be a leader and foundation member of APC said although some people were opposed to imposing the Islamic religion others thought otherwise.
“In fairness to the members of the party there are many leaders within its ranks who share my views and who are also opposed to the religious agenda that the few have but I am not prepared to stay and fight from within because the presence of any closet Haramites on the same political platform as me is something that I find utterly repugnant,” he lamented.
“I cannot be in a party where a number of leading people question the secularity of the state and yet those people are not called to order by the so called party leaders and where such people seem to hold sway.
“I cannot be in a party which appears to have politicised the whole of the Chibok issue and who are not sincere in trying to get the girls back,” he added.
On 9 April, Fani-Kayode met with Jonathan at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday. The meeting, which was also attended by a third party man lasted for about one hour in the president’s office.
APC’s Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said last night that the party would react.
But as of the time of going to press, the reaction was not received.