Like claps of thunder, angry reactions have continued to follow the defection, to the All Progressives Cogress, APC, from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP by former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode. Even from within the APC, there is, at best, subdued anger over his becoming one of them.
On defection on Thursday, FFK had claimed to be instrumental to the defection of three PDP Governors to the APC. He named them as Dave Umahi, Ebonyi, Ben Ayade, Cross River, and Bello Matawalle, Zamfara.
He also claimed to be in consultation with three other Governors to defect. They are Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Enugu, Seyi Makinde, Oyo and Mohammed Bala, Bauchi.
But an angry Governor Umahi stopped short of calling Fani-Kayode a blatant liar for claiming he was instrumental to his (Umahi’s) defection to the APC. He declared the claim an insult, and asked him to withdraw the embarrassing statement.
Speaking on a Channels Television Interview program, Umahi said: “For someone to come and say that a whole Chairman of the South-east Governors Forum, that he was instrumental to my movement from PDP to APC is an insult on my person, and with all due respect, he has to withdraw that statement.
“He remains my friend, and a good one for that matter, but he played no role in my movement, and I’m sure he didn’t play any role in the movement of the rest of us.”
In another development, Presidential Aide, Babafemi Ojodu, described the day Fani-Kayode was allowed to defect to the APC as “My saddest day in politics”