HEAR! HEAR! Why I Visited The Presidential Villa – Femi Fani-Kayode ... InformationNigeria

A former Minister of Aviation and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, yesterday in a surprising move, visited the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he held a closed–door meeting with  President Goodluck Jonathan. The move is even more shocking when one takes into consideration the fact that this is the first time the former minister would be visiting the seat of power since Jonathan became president.

Fani-Kayode, who is an unrepentant critic of the present administration, told State House correspondents that while he would keep his cards close to his chest until the appropriate time, he would not associate himself with a group or political party that promotes a particular religion above another.
He was making a veiled reference to the purported plans by the APC to field an all Muslim presidential ticket in the 2015 general elections, which he has described as a wrong move that would boomerang.
Dressed in a white caftan, perhaps to symbolize that he was on a peace mission, Fani-Kayode was reluctant to speak to reporters, who wanted to have the scoop on what he discussed with the president in his office, saying that he had another appointment with the Chief of Staff, Gen Jones Arogbofa (rtd).
However, he changed his mind when he was reminded that he was dealing with his constituency, the media.
On his next line of action now that he has visited President Jonathan, Fani-Kayode said: “The step that I will take will be made known to Nigerians at the right time. The most important thing, and I think you are fully aware of this, is that I cannot and I will not be associated with a situation whereby any group of people is promoting a religion above another.
“I think all of us have gone past the stage of religious politics in this country. We must treat the Muslim community with utmost respect and we must that Christian community the same way and even the non-religious”.
On his mission to the seat of power, he said, “This is a presidential villa. The president is the president of Nigeria; every Nigerian is entitled, when the doors are open, to come and pay their respect to the wonderful people that are here. As a Nigerian, I have done that today and I’m delighted to be here”.
Responding to a question on his perception of the president, he said, “I have always believed that every Nigerian, regardless of the side of the political divide they belong, and as a Nigerian myself, I have believed that we disagree on an issue from time to time; the most important thing is for us to be able to resolve these issues, come together to move this country forward, and I think every right thinking, responsible person should be able to do that. They should also be able to come to the villa from time to time and see how they can help to move the country forward”.
On what he discussed with the president, the former minister simply said, “I won’t go into that”.