Former minister of aviation Femi Fani-Kayode has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mr Fani-Kayode met with President Muhammadu Buhari in the company of other APC chieftains at the State House on Thursday.
Presidential spokesman Femi Adesina shared pictures of the meeting on Facebook with the caption “President Buhari receives New APC Member Femi Fani-Kayode in State House on 16th Sep 2021.”
Fani-Kayode was led into the president’s office by the caretaker chairman of the APC and governor of Yobe Mai-Mala Buni as well as Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle.
Fani-Kayode had held talks for months with APC leaders before his eventual defection. At one time, he debunked rumour that he had joined the APC.
Speaking to State House correspondents afterwards, Buni quoted Buhari as describing the defection of Fani-Kayode to APC as a welcome development.
He said: “The president received him very well. The president is a leader who shares his vision and looks toward greater Nigeria, so he received him very well and commended his courage.”
Fani-Kayode said he believed it was time for him to cross over to join hands with the president in moving Nigeria forward.
He said: “The point is that I felt it was time to do the right thing, to put Nigeria first and appreciate the efforts that have been made, particularly in the last couple of years in terms of security; fighting insurgency and terrorism.
“It is not always negative and when the time is right, we change direction to join forces and join hands to move the country forward.
“Doing this doesn’t mean we are enemies to anybody. Even if we are in another party, the PDP or any other party or group, we can still work together across party, regional, ethnic or religious lines.”
