Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has
released a copy of the letter he wrote to Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative
Journalism (WSCIJ) excusing himself from the ceremony where he was to receive
an “integrity award”.
In the letter released by Laolu
Akande, Osinbajo’s spokesman, the vice-president said it would be insensitive
for him to attend the award ceremony in the light of the travails of Omoyele
Sowore, convener of RevolutionNow movement.
Osinbajo released the letter on
Monday, hours after the centre announced it was postponing the award of
Osinbajo over Sowore’s treatment.
It had said the postponement was
“to align with protests against the repression of freedom of speech in recent
times especially the incident between the Department of State Security (DSS)
and Omoleye Sowore.”
The letter read:”I am extremely
grateful for the recognition and award of the “Integrity Specialty of the Wole
Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism’s Anti-corruption Defender Award of
2019” to me.
“The award, I note, is for our
Justice reform efforts in Lagos State. I had accepted the award with pride on
behalf of the excellent Justice Sector team we had.
“However, two reasons explain my
absence. First is that I am currently in Abu Dhabi for an international meeting
under the auspices of the government of the UAE where I am the keynote speaker.
“Second, in view of the development
on Friday in the Sowore case, I think it would be insensitive and inappropriate
to attend the ceremony.
“Please accept my heartfelt
apologies and extend the same to the other members of the organizing team. God
bless you.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com