By AfrikTimes | Lagos
Nine months ago, Ayodele Fayose was adamant he wanted nothing from the Tinubu government. This week, he became one of its newest appointees.
Back in October 2025, appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, the former Ekiti governor spoke openly about turning down an offer from President Tinubu himself. By his own account, the President had asked what he could offer him, and Fayose’s reply was simply that he wanted nothing. At 65, he said, he preferred a quieter life; one where he could focus on personal matters rather than chase another public role, pointing to his two terms as governor as proof he’d already done his part for the public.
Read Also: 2026 Fayose Lands REA Chairmanship as Tinubu Overhauls Boards of 10 Federal Agencies
He was careful, even then, to separate the personal from the political. Fayose acknowledged a long friendship with Tinubu that predated party lines but insisted that closeness never amounted to backing the APC. Any public stance he took on national matters, he said at the time, came from conviction rather than an appetite for appointments or favours.
That was then. On Monday, the presidency named Fayose Chairman of the Rural Electrification Agency’s governing board, one of 26 appointments across ten federal agencies and commissions announced by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.
The announcement makes no reference to Fayose’s earlier comments, simply confirming his new role alongside the other appointees and noting that all the postings took immediate effect.
Whether Fayose has offered any explanation for the apparent change of heart isn’t yet clear, and the contrast between his October remarks and Monday’s appointment has already become a talking point of its own.
