Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has denied claims stating that he attended the World Economic Forum in South Africa.
The event which kicked off on Wednesday saw the absence of Nigeria who boycotted it in response to xenophobic attacks suffered by Nigerians in South Africa.
However, pictures surfaced showing Fayemi, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, at an event in South Africa.
The pictures were mistaken by social media to mean the trio attended the World Economic Forum despite the Federal Government boycotting it.
A statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Kanmi Olatoye, sees Fayemi clearing the air on attending the World Economic Forum.
He said: “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 Olojode, at Africa in the World Festival of Ideas, which held in Stellenbosch, a university town in South Africa’s Western Cape province.”
He added that, “More importantly, the event already held before the decision of the Federal Government to boycott the WEF programme.”