Former minister of Aviation, Femi
Fani-Kayode, has said he is not surprised that his name has been included in
the latest list of looters released by the presidency on Sunday.
In a statement on Monday,
Fani-Kayode insisted that he has not been convicted by any court of law.
He labelled the allegations as
“nonsensical and utterly shameful”, while calling President Muhammadu Buhari’s
government “weak”.
The statement read: “It has been
brought to my attention that my name was placed in what the Federal Government
of Nigeria describes as its “looters list”.
“I wish to make it abundatly
clear that this is nonsensical and utterly shameful and I hereby reiterate the
fact that I am totally innocent of any wrongdoing.
“The fact of the matter is that
no “looters list” is complete without the names of Muhammadu Buhari, Yemi
Osinbajo, Rotimi Ameachi, Tunde Fashola, Bola Tinubu, Lai Mohammed, Adamu
Abdullahi, Dambazau, Kayode Fayemi, Babachir Lawal, Maina, Maikanto Baru,
Burutai, all APC Governors and other key members of the Buhari administration
and the APC.
“The Federal Government claims
that I “looted” 800,000,000 naira from government coffers. This is false.
“I did not receive and neither
was I ever given one kobo by any government official, government agency or
government parastatal during President Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure.
“The money that I received was
given to me by the Director of Finance of the Jonathan Campaign Organisation,
Mrs. Esther Nenadi Usman, before the election in 2015 and it was specifically
for the conduct of the Presidential election.
“I was Director of Media and
Publicity of the Campaign Organisation and it was used specifically and solely for
the running and conducting of the media and publicity aspect of the election.
“Mrs. Usman, who was Minister of
Finance during the Obasanjo government, was neither a member of the Jonathan
government and neither did she manage, handle or touch any government funds in
her capacity as Director of Finance of the Jonathan campaign.
“The money she made available to
me came from a private company account which was used to house contributions
made to the Jonathan campaign by party supporters after a series of fundraising
event.
“These were private funds and not
public funds and neither can anyone expect us to have run an election in 2015
without any money. You do not run election campaigns with sand but with money.
“It is common knowledge that the
Buhari campaign in 2015 was funded by moneys that can be traced directly to the
state governments of Rivers state, Lagos state, Kano state, Ogun state and a
number of other key APC states yet not one of those involved or that governed
any of those states at the time have been questioned, arrested or prosecuted by
the EFCC or the Federal Government.
“It is also common knowledge that
President Buhari himself was offered and received several benefits and received
money from the office of the former National Security Advisor, Col. Sambo
Dasuki, yet nothing has been done about this.
“From the foregoing it is clear
that the Buhari administration’s so-called war against corruption is selective
and punitive and it is nothing but a vicious media trial and
politically-motivated witchunt.
“It is nothing but a squalid and
mafia-like attempt to muscle, discredit, demonise and sillence key members of
the opposition. It is slanderous, malicious and unjust.
“If not for the fact that the Buhari
administration is an irresponsible, weak, desperate and corrupt government that
has no confidence in itself and no sense of decency how can they declare people
that have not been convicted by any court of law as “looters”.
“Not only is this a violation of
the constitutional provision that says that an accused person is deemed
innocent until they are proved guilty by a duly constituted court of law but it
is also highly prejudicial to the criminal cases that they are or may be
facing.
“Apart from that it is a crude
and sordid attempt to intimidate the judges and influence the outcome of the
cases which are before them and also to compel them to give the judgement that
the government wants. This is not only unacceptable but it is also shameful.
“It is a clear violation of the
concept of separation of powers which gives the judiciary alone the power to
determine the guilt or otherwise of an accused person.
“It is trite law that only a
court of law can declare a man guilty or declare him a thief or a looter and
not Buhari and his government.
“How can anyone get a fair trial
in a country when the government has already pronounced them guilty before the
world?
“You cannot be the investigator,
accuser, prosecutor and judge in your own case. This is a basic principle of
criminal and constitutional law which appears to have been lost on President
Buhari and his cohorts.
“I don’t blame him: I blame Vice
President Osinbajo who, as a Professor of Law and a learned SAN, should know
better and who I am reliably informed is the co-ordinator of all these
politically-motivated, baseless and malicious corruption cases which are being
conducted against opposition members by the EFCC.
“He is the one that has been
saddled with the shameless responsibility of manipulating the prosecutors,
emboldening false witnesses, attempting to pressure the judges and attempting
to send innocent men and women who are members of the opposition to jail.
“One day, whether he believes it
or not, there will be a reckoning for his wickedness just as there will be one
for Buhari and his entire government. God will see to that and He will judge
and punish them.
“Meanwhile I reject the false
label of “looter” and I hereby return it to sender.
“I also deny all the charges that
have been levelled against me by the EFCC, I hereby restate my innocence and I
shall continue to vigorously defend myself and my good family name in the court
of law.
“I have no doubt that in the end
my innocence will speak for me, God will vindicate me and He will expose my
accusers for the heartless monsters that they really are.”
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Any account that got an alert from the National security adviser's office have been called to come and explain the reason for getting that monies, and if they are satisfied you can go ,if they are not satisfied you returns the Cash, but failure to return the money will give them reason to prosecute you, then why don't you return the money??? Because the account that sent you the money they received the money from the NSA office. Confirm you get the message
ReplyDelete@Zali,you are such a dumb,a blind working man,a dead and blind brain. You have eyes but cud not read well,has he be convicted by court?has he be found guilty? Pls where is ur brain? Useless and worse hausa I ever met
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