Fayemi agrees to resign as minister of mines and steel within a week to focus on Ekiti election

MINES and steel development Dr Kayode Fayemi has promised to resign from office within a week after being elected as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the forthcoming Ekiti State governorship elections.

Last weekend, Dr Fayemi won the APC primaries and will be the party's candidates for the polls due to take place on July 14. A former governor himself, Dr Fayemi secured 941 votes, beating Segun Oni, his nearest rival, who was also a former governor who only got 481 votes, to clinch a resounding victory.

Under the Nigerian and APC constitution, however, serving ministers are obliged to stand down if they are seeking elective office and Dr Fayemi's continued presence in the cabinet has raised several concerns. Earlier this week, Dr Fayemi was formally presented to President Muhammadu Buhari as the official APC candidate at State House in Abuja and at the event, he promised to resign from the federal cabinet within in a week.

When asked when he will resign his appointment as a minister, Dr Fayemi initially claimed that there was still a lot of work to be done. He referred newsmen to Section 182 of the constitution, which he said allowed him to be in office till at least 30 days to the election but later agreed that he should stand down.

Dr Fayemi said: “There is still a lot of work to do and the constitution, again, is very clear. What the constitution says in Section 182 is that I must leave the cabinet at least 30 days before the general election.

“Well, I am the candidate of our party and I am also a minister of the federal republic, at least for the next one week. So, for the next one week, I am the minister of mines and steel.”

Admitting that there was still a major work to do to win Ekiti for the APC, the governorship candidate expressed delight that those who contested the party ticket with him have seen the work as a collective rescue mission. He said that he had reached out to other aspirants and that they have agreed to be a part of the candidate advisory council for the election.