Ekiti Gov Denies Attending WEF In South Africa

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has denied attending the World Economic Forum, WEF in South Africa.

His denial is coming on the heels of the outrage of Nigerians at the photographs shared by the Kano Emirate Council of Fayemi, alongside the Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai; and the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi at the World conference holding in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Some Nigerians had criticised the trio for traveling to South Africa after the Federal Government had boycotted the WEF in protest against the xenophobic attacks visited on Nigerians resident in South Africa.
The forum is holding between 4th and 6th of this month.

But Fayemi in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant (Electronic Media), Kanmi Olatoye said his boss was not at the WEF, but was in South Africa to honour an invitation of a long-time friend.

The read in part: “Contrary to some misleading online reports, Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, was not at the World Economic Forum in South Africa.

“Rather, the governor is in South Africa to honour an invitation by a long-time friend and one of Nigeria’s most celebrated journalists, Mr. Dele Olojede, at the Africa in the World Festival of Ideas, which held in Stellenbosch, a university town in South Africa’s Western Cape province.”

Continuing, the statement asserted that, “More importantly, the event already held before the decision of the Federal Government to boycott the WEF programme.”