Why Buhari did not appoint me as Minister – Femi Falana

Renowned human rights lawyer and activist, Femi Falana has explained why President Muhammadu Buhari did not appoint him a minister.

Buhari had picked Kayode Fayemi, former Ekiti governor as nominee for the state.

Speaking to The Interview magazine, Falana said: “I was actually contacted. I was actually invited to come on board. It took me appreciable time to make up my mind.

“Along the way, I was made to understand there were people who were opposed to my appointment for ideological reasons. It is their right to do so.”

“For me, it would have been a call to service, not to make money,” he said.

“Those who believed that I should mobilise people to put in a word for me, or wanted me to speak to somebody I fought on principle several years ago were, of course, disappointed.

“This guy actually headed one of the universities at a time students were killed.

“I had to support the students’ cause at that time. You don’t then expect me to go to him and swallow my vomit. This is what I mean by the ideological price.”

Falana said there were also “certain leaders” of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that opposed his appointment because he was not a member of the party. “Of course, they are right.

“Certain people wanted me to be opportunistic by offering to backdate a membership card for me. I said, ‘no, over my dead body’. I wasn’t looking for a job. I was gainfully employed.”