Chairman of the Southwest Governors’ Forum Rotimi Akeredolu says Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti was not with southwest governors on Tuesday to visit the national leader of All Progressives Congress Bola Tinubu because he had a flight to catch to Port Harcourt, River State.
Mr Fayemi, who is rumoured to be considering a presidential bid in 2023, had attended a meeting in Lagos with other southwest governors but was missing when the governors visited Tinubu in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Mr Akeredolu, who is also Ondo State governor, on Wednesday, explained in a statement by his chief press secretary Richard Olatunde that Fayemi had to catch a flight to Port Harcourt for a Nigerian Bar Association event, hence his absence from the visit.
“Governor Fayemi was with us at the Southwest Governors’ Forum meeting held earlier at the Lagos House in Marina. He had to leave to catch a late flight to Portharcourt where he was billed to attend the NBA Conference dinner.
“He sent his apology to Asiwaju as well as his good wishes. The rest of us who visited Asiwaju’s residence tendered the same and extended Fayemi’s good wishes,” the statement quoted Akeredolu as saying.
Fayemi had visited Tinubu while the APC leader, who is also considering a presidential bid in 2023, was recuperating from knee surgery in London.
The Ekiti governor told Arise TV in an interview that the visit was not connected to the 2023 presidential election, but a show of solidarity.
