Adebayo Shittu, the former Minister of Communication, says he was shocked when President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial list, didn’t include his name.

The former minister said this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, adding that he didn’t also expect that he would not be reappointed, as a Muslim, he took it as his fate.

“Of course, I expected that I will be reappointed (as a minister) but when it didn’t happen, as a Muslim, it didn’t take me five minutes before I accepted that what has come, it’s the will of God.

“And I have also found comfort in a Quranic verse when God promised that what is to come later is better than what is with you now.

“So for me, it says we must accept that there is always something better with God which he gives to his beloved.

“I see myself as a beloved of God.

“I have come a long way and I have served at the state and national levels and the experience that I have garnered over the last three and half years cannot be purchased from the stores or from the market,” he said.

He said as a public officer, one must always have it in one’s mind that “whatever has a beginning will necessarily have an end.”

“And it is not how long one stays in public office but how well you are able to distinguish yourself,” he said.

“I want to thank God that I am one politician who has a second address in the sense that, if I am not a minister, I will be doing some other productive things which will also contribute to national development.

“Of course, I would have wished that I have other opportunities to serve. I believe the chapter of my public service is not closed.

“By the grace of God, I will continue to be relevant in national development.

“As a lawyer of about 40 years, I now have my chambers opened in Abuja. So now, I am back in practice,” he said.

“I have been a local politicians for almost 40 years before the opportunity to serve at the national level.

“I really appreciate it and I want to say that I am eternally grateful to Mr President.

“So for me to have been in office for three and half years, I think it is a rear privilege for which I will continue to thank God and to continue to thank Mr President,” he said.