By Adesina Soyooye
The leadership of the People’s Democratic Party, took a step to “woo back” one of its most unpredictable Chieftains and strong voice, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode to the “main stream” of the party. FFK’s loyalty to the party, many insist, has been on a shifting sand in the past few weeks.
The Party’s Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, led the leadership of the Party to visit FFK at his Abuja residence.
FFK had ruffled political feathers, especially, within the PDP when he visited and held a meeting with the Interim Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Mai Mala Buni, who is, also, the Governor of Kebbi State, and Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State. When the photographs the three of them took were splashed across both the traditional and Social Media, disbelief from across both the PDP and APC was the reaction.
The confirmation by Governor Bello, while addressing APC supporters in Lokoja, that FFK had defected to the APC from the PDP, did not help matters. He was also to say, later, that FFK came to him, asking to be admitted into the Party.
While a dignified, but an uncomfortable silence was the reaction from the PDP leadership, a number of people from the APC reacted in anger, and warned the party’s leadership against re-admitting FFK into the APC. They cited a number of despicable things he had said of the party and a number of its high profile members, including President Muhammadu Buhari.
With the reaction from the APC members, notably the Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum, PGF, Mr Lukman, and President Buhari’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Ahmad Bashir, FFK issued a not-too-strong statement, saying he had not defected to the APC. He, however, admitted holding meetings across party lines, for the unity of the party.
But Lukman was to reveal, and celebrate that the APC leadership rejected FFK’s membership of the the party. He was rejected, he said, adding: “That is the difference between the APC and the PDP.”
Since then, things have been slow. Nobody could say exactly what the situation was, until a couple of days ago when FFK issued a statement, subtly asserting that he was not rejected by any party. And insisted that he could not be caged by anybody or any party, and that he does what he liked. “I am a lion”, he proclaimed, for effect.
Apparently, the PDP leadership is worried about FFK’s utterances, and/or future political moves. A source told this magazine that even though FFK has a reputation for decamping from one party to the other, and vice versa, (He decamped from the PDP to the APC, and back to the PDP, and subsequently was appointed President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election Director of Media and Publicity for the 2019 Presidential election) the PDP did not want to lose him again to the APC.
He is punchy, blunt, and his words hurt.
Said a PDP stalwart to this magazine, “FFK is better inside than outside. He can be a formidable enemy. You need to watch his mouth and choice, and use of words.”
Even though it is not public yet what they discussed, we gathered it was not far from his activities and pronouncements in the past few weeks.They want to know exactly where he stands and to appeal to him to stay put in the party.
But another source said that the discussions may have gone deeper than that.
The Govs. Ayade, Matawalle, Mohammed Connection
Unconfirmed sources told this magazine that given the close relationship between FFK and the Governors of Cross River State and Zamfara States, Prof Ben Ayade and Muhammad Matawalle respectively, they suspect three of them could be planning a joint decamp to the APC from the PDP. Also being touted is the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed.
They have reasons to suspect so.
A few months ago, at the time of the PDP State Congresses, FFK had warned of dire consequences if the leadership of the PDP in the State is taken away from Ayade. I will stand shoulder to shoulder with him, he thundered. The Governor was, also, one of those FFK visited during his controversial tour of some States to assess projects.
For the records, Governor Ayade is one of the opposition Governors that is very close to Buhari, and does not criticise him, at all.
And so did FFK visit, also, Zamfara’s Matallawe, on a tour of Zamfara State. During that visit, FFK was turbanned and given a title by the Emir of Gusau.
A couple of months ago, Governor Matawalle had threatened to dump the PDP, citing what he called the “personalisation of, and the stranglehold on the party by a South-south Governor.” The Zamfara Governor has not withdrawn the threat.
A few days ago, FFK jumped into a strong defence of Governor Bala Mohammed who was called the leader of terrorists by his Benue State counterpart, Governor Sam Ortom, over Mohammed’s surprising support of the carrying of AK 47 rifle by Fulani herdsmen. FFK had jumped into the spat between the two Governors, in a strong defence of Mohammed. He never condemned Mohammed’s pronouncement, but focused on his being labelled a terrorist. Many found that strange.
Said a source who should know to this magazine, “All things put together, it was important for the PDP to start from somewhere to put its house in order, having lost a few high profile members to the APC in the past two weeks. Meeting with FFK is a good idea. If anything is being planned, he is blunt enough to tell them the truth, and why.”
