Dele Alake, minister of solid minerals development, says he has no interest in contesting to become the governor of Ekiti State.
In a statement on Monday, Segun Tomori, the minister’s media aide, said Alake has nothing to do with the campaign posters circulating on social media, describing them as fake.
He said Alake is committed to his current national assignment as a minister.
Tomori added that Alake supports the current administration of Biodun Oyebanji, the governor of Ekiti.
The minister, an indigene of Ekiti, served as a commissioner of information and strategy in Lagos from 1999 to 2007.
“The attention of the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Oladele Alake has been drawn to a poster that is circulating on social media and across WhatsApp groups where he is positioned as a gubernatorial aspirant in Ekiti State with the inscription ‘Take it Back’,” the statement reads.
“The general public is hereby informed that Dr. Alake has no interest in running for the governorship election in Ekiti State, either now or in the future.
“The poster in circulation does not have his approval as he does not know the people behind it. It is fake and should be discarded.
“It is unconscionable that the Honourable Minister who is busy with the onerous task of reforming and revamping the Solid Minerals sector in Nigeria, a responsibility committed to him by President Bola Tinubu will leave that to be plotting for an election in Ekiti State.
“The Honourable Minister is a busy man, working tirelessly on how to make the solid minerals sector a major revenue earner for the country and for the sector to create thousands of high-paying jobs for Nigerians.”