Fayemi: These Are Difficult Times, Economy, Security Not Doing Well

•Meets Buhari, Inuwa over national concerns 

•Silent on presidential bid, says not a season for declaration yet

Deji Elumoye and Segun Awofadeji in Gombe

Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, yesterday, said although things were difficult at the moment with economy and security not doing well, President Muhammadu Buhari, was however doing everything to calm the situation.

Fayemi, who said this during a routine consultative meeting with his Gombe State counterpart, Muhammad Yahaya Inuwa, also said the governors as a body would continue to look for the best ways in building on the gains of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government.

At the same time, Fayemi also spent some time with President Buhari later in the day, to discuss national issues and some concerns agitating the minds of his colleague governors.

The governors’ governor, who was believed to be nursing a presidential ambition was, however, silent on his rumoured aspiration, saying it was not yet a season for declaration as both Muslims and Christians were currently observing their annual fasting, which therefore marked the moment as spiritual.

According to the Ekiti governor, “These are very difficult times for our country and our President is doing his best to calm things down. The economy is not experiencing the best of times, our security situation continues to be challenging and we are in a period of transition.

“For us as governors, we always must find basis together to move with the president of the country in order to strengthen the federation and build a better country that will serve the interest of our people.”

Fayemi said as far as the economy was concerned, “our primary role as members of the National Economic Council and field commanders for the President of Nigeria, is to support him to get over these challenges, which are both internal and external.”

Asked about his rumoured Presidential ambition, he said, this is not a season for political declaration as it is a spiritual season for both Christian lent and Muslim Ramadan.

His words: “Whether I am going to run for the presidency or not, is a matter of conjecture. What I will appeal to you Journalists is to wait till after this spiritual season. It will be disrespectful of all our faiths, Muslims and Christians, to start playing that politics. I’m a Catholic and lent is very important to us, just as Ramadan is important to my brother (Inuwa). Let this period end,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Fayemi, who was at the seat of government, Abuja, in the afternoon hours, met with Buhari behind closed doors.

Fayemi, sources claimed, had used the meeting with the president to discuss the state of the nation and also, some issues agitating the minds of the governors as a body.

The Ekiti governor, had earlier been to Borno and Gombe States as part of routine peer consultations and also in Kaduna State, to see Governor Nasir El-Rufai over the recent train attack, before ending up at the Villa to see the president.

Although many had thought that Fayemi was going to use the meeting with Buhari to intimate him about plans to run, he had, however, earlier in Gombe, dismissed any such things, saying it was a spiritual moment with both Christians and Muslims fasting and as such, political declaration was not expedient for him until after.