Trouble in Buhari's Cabinet he does not trust the Igbo in his team...... The power tussle among ministers in the cabinet of Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari assumed a new dimension with Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi openly denigrating Geoffery Onyeama, his colleague in the Foreign Affairs ministry at the just concluded African Union summit in Kigali, Rwanda.

A top diplomatic source informed about the development disclosed the ugly incident in Kigali to SIGNAL on Tuesday. According to the official who did not want to be named, Fayemi arrived Kigali shortly after Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo touched down in the Rwandan capital on Friday to represent his boss, President Buhari at the AU summit.

Upon his arrival in Kigali, Fayemi in a chitchat with some diplomats from other African countries threw caution to the wind, casually labeling his colleague, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyeama as weak and incapable of effectively discharging his responsibility as Foreign Affairs minister. According to the source, Fayemi cited his presence in Kigali at the instance of President Buhari as evidence that President Buhari does not believe fully in the capacity of Onyeama to direct affairs at the foreign ministry.

“It was baffling because it was such an undiplomatic comment and an unexpected one. I don’t know what he was thinking when he made the comment, perhaps he thought he was making a casual assertion or even cracking a joke. But it was really shocking. He even went as far as saying boastfully that he came to Kigali in a separate jet made available by President Buhari for his use. He went on and on about how Geoffery was incapable of managing foreign affairs and that’s why Buhari sent him to assist the diplomatic team from Nigeria. We just listened to him as he went on and on. I guess there’s a lot going on in your country that we don’t know about but those comments were uncalled for”, the source said.

Dashed expectations

Prior to the time President Buhari named his cabinet, Fayemi was the media’s favorite for the position of Foreign Affairs minister. The media had touted his credentials as a former governor and his supposed wide diplomatic contacts backed with a doctorate degree in War Studies from the University of London, England.

Unknowingly to many, the eventual appointee for the post of Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffery Onyeama was equally a heavy weight in terms of education, exposure and global contacts. Onyeama holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Political Science from Columbia University, New York in 1977 and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Law from St. John’s College, Cambridge in 1980. He bagged a Masters of Law (LL.M) from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1982 and a Masters of Arts (MA) in Law from St. John’s College, Cambridge in 1984. His career has spanned development and external relations across Africa and Western Asia and he is said to be gifted with the fluent proficiency of several international languages including French.

Informed sources told SIGNAL Fayemi received his appointment to the Solid Minerals ministry with shock and disappointment as he was hoping to be named Foreign Affairs minister. Ever since the appointment, Fayemi is said to have continually nursed a secret ambition to forge his way through to the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

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