Corruption: Fani -Kayode Dismisses Keyamo's Allegations As Tomfoolery
…Says Buhari's Certificate Defense Disingenuous
SAN FRANCISCO, January 20, (THEWILL) – The Director of Media and Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has dismissed the corruption allegations made against him by Lagos lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, saying he is more interested in the destiny of the country than be distracted by what he described as tomfoolery.
Fani-Kayode stated this on a day he also responded to the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari's certificate defence, declaring that it was disingenuous for Buhari to say that he contested previous elections and that the issue of his qualifications did not arise.
A statement issued Monday by Sufuyan Ojeifo, Special Assistant on Media to Fani-Kayode, said: “Chief Fani-Kayode is in the middle of running a presidential campaign and it is a battle for the heart and soul of our nation. He has more important things to do than to respond to tomfoolery. It is true that Keyamo is prosecuting a case for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Chief Fani-Kayode.
“This prosecutor, who obviously cannot make a distinction between persecution and prosecution, must have read his law upside down because the constitution clearly states that every Nigerian is deemed innocent unless and until proven guilty by a court of law. “
The statement further said: “The most pervasive and brazen act of corruption is for a so-called prosecutor to file false and bogus charges and attempt to destroy the life of an innocent man for no just cause, which is what Keyamo has been trying to do to Chief Fani-Kayode and his family for the last seven years. “
According to the statement, “Keyamo is a man that is motivated by nothing but malice, pettiness, showmanship and vengeance and when the case is over, we will let the world know the truth.
“He has failed to achieve his objectives and he will continue to fail because Chief Fani-Kayode is innocent of any wrongdoing. They initially claimed that he stole N19.5 billion of the Aviation Intervention Fund but this was thrown out by the courts for want of evidence.”
“After that, in 2008, Keyamo filed a bogus 47-count money laundering charge on behalf of the Farida Waziri-led EFCC in which he claimed that Chief Fani-Kayode had laundered N200 million.”
“In 2014, he reduced it to a 40-count charge and reduced the amount that was allegedly laundered from N200 million to N99 million. Earlier this year, 38 of those 40 counts, which collectively represented the sum of N97 million, were thrown out by the courts for want of evidence. The remaining two counts, which represent the sum of N1 million each, will be defended on February 23rd and 24th.”
“Chief Fani-Kayode looks forward to that date because he is innocent and he has every confidence in God and the Nigerian judiciary. What people like Keyamo fail to appreciate is that the days of prosecuting people on the pages of newspapers without any hard evidence and trying to intimidate innocent people with the EFCC are long over.”
“This is an era in which only those that have committed any crimes or indulged in any wrongdoing have everything to fear. If Keyamo feels that Chief Fani-Kayode has done anything wrong, he should provide the necessary evidence and prove it in a court of law rather than spend his time mouthing off on the pages of newspapers. “
In a related development, Fani-Kayode has declared that it is disingenuous for Buhari to say that he contested previous elections and that the issue of his qualifications did not arise. “Had INEC not complied with the Electoral Act this year, which requires that they paste the academic credentials of all the Presidential candidates, Nigerians would have remained ignorant of the fact that Buhari has probably been submitting affidavits for the past elections,” Fani-Kayode said in a statement issued Monday by his media aide, Ojeifo.
According to the statement, “The fact that he got away with it in 2003, 2007 and 2011 does not make it right. The minimum that Nigerians require from Buhari is the presentation of his secondary school certificate which enabled him to gain admission into the Nigerian Military College in 1962 and on which basis he became a commissioned officer of the Nigerian Army. ”
“This forms the fulcrum for the subsequent courses that he attended as he rose in the Army, including the U.S. War College. Failure to produce that school certificate implies that Buhari's entire career in the Army was based on falsehood which cannot stand. This brings to question the admission system/policy into the Army in the early 1960s. ”
“Were the rules bent for certain individuals in fulfillment of the quota system? Anyone that reads General Alabi Isama's book which was published last year will know that this was the case. In fact, Alabi Isama went as far as to allege that some Nigerians were admitted into the military academy without the necessary qualifications like school certificate.”
“We believe that Buhari was one of those people and this is why he is unable to produce his certificate. The truth is that he was never qualified for entry into the Military Academy in the first place and consequently he should never have become a commissioned officer let alone a man that rose to the rank of General. At best he ought to have remained a non-commissioned officer. ”
“As long as he cannot produce that secondary school certificate, we believe that he is not qualified to run for the Presidency of Nigeria. This is a matter of law and not sentiment. Buhari, just like any other Nigerian, must be compelled to abide by the law and he must prove his eligibility for the Presidential election by simply producing his secondary school certificate.”