Afrobeat musician, Femi Kuti has stated that he refused to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) partly because President Muhammadu Buhari imprisoned his father.
Kuti made this known in a series of tweets on Friday to explain his participation in the January 2012 protest in Ojota, Lagos against fuel price hike.
Femi noted that he joined what he thought was a honest movement against an unpopular policy by the then President Goodluck Jonathan.
The singer said that he pulled out immediately he realized the protest was politically motivated.
Femi and others who protested the fuel hike then have been called out for not protesting publicly against the recent increase in fuel price by the incumbent Buhari administration.
“I want to state for clarity and posterity my role in the Ojota protest,” Femi stated.
“I was invited for what I and many believed was a genuine cause regarding the cost of fuel.
“As soon as I found out it was politically motivated I pulled out.
“I got a lot of backlash at the time but stood my ground.
“For the record, I have NEVER and will NEVER affiliate with any political party that I don’t feel has the genuine interest of the people of Nigeria at heart.”
Femi added that he deliberately refused to join the APC when Vice President Yemi Osinbajo asked him to, just as he refused to join the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
On why he refused Osinbajo’s invitation to join APC, Femi said: “First, my main reason was President Buhari jailing my father in the 80s.
“Second, I didn’t believe any of the two major political parties had/have the genuine interest of the Nigerian people at heart.”