CONFUSION: Two Former Governors ‘Desperately’ Compete As Buhari Finally Chooses Chief of Staff
It has been revealed that former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi was the leader of a small advance team that went to Germany to prepare for the arrival of President Muhammadu Buhari as he attends the G-7 meeting.
It has been revealed that former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi was the leader of a small advance team that went to Germany to prepare for the arrival of President Muhammadu Buhari as he attends the G-7 meeting.
The President of Nigeria was accompanied by a 20-person delegation
including former Governor Babatunde Fashola(SAN) of Lagos State; former
Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Abdulrahman Dambazau (ret.); his
personal photographer, Bayo Omoboriowo, and his cook named ‘Anne’.
The presence of both former Governors Fashola and Fayemi on the
delegation raised fresh speculations about President Buhari’s possible
role for both men in his administration. A source close to the president
revealed to newsmen that Mr. Buhari was considering appointing Mr.
Fashola as his Chief of Staff, a position the former governor of Ekiti
state is also competing for, as disclosed by our source.
However, the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC),
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was reportedly opposed to Mr. Fashola’s appointment.
Mr. Tinubu who preceded Mr. Fashola as governor of Lagos State
sometimes had a tense political relationship with the immediate past
governor. Another candidate for the position of Chief of Staff, Agboola
Gambari, a professor, although not considered a serious contender for
the position as indicated by the exclusion of his name from the list of
delegates that accompanied the president to Germany. Mr. Gambari’s name
only cropped up as one of the candidates for the post of Chief of Staff a
few days ago.
President Buhari’s trip to Germany is his first trip outside of Africa
since his inauguration on May 29, 2015. It should be noted that his
20-man delegation which reportedly included members of his advance party
is a new development in the country and a scale back from the practice
of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s which involved foreign trips
with as many as 200 people.