‘Fayose is Childishly Obsessed with Desire to Grab Media Headlines’-Nigeria’s Presidency
* ‘Laughable, Insulting Linking Buhari’s Wife (Aisha) to US Congressman Bribery Scandal’
* ‘Ignoring him means giving Traction and Credibility to outright and brazen Falsehoods’
* “We dare Fayose to tell Nigerians if the so-called Aisha whose pictures he proudly, but ignorantly shared, was the same Aisha married to President Muhammadu Buhari”-Garba Shehu, SSA to President on Media and Publicity
*Nigeria’s First Lady May File Libel, Threat to Life Charges against Fayose
BY MOHAMMED RILWAN/POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, ABUJA
NIGERIA’S Presidency has come very hard on Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, representing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) an opposition party in the South-West area of Nigeria. Though the nation’s anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had descended on the private bank accounts of this embattled governor in Zenith Bank about 24 hours ago over allegation of tracing proceeds of money laundered during the Ekiti State Gubernatorial election from office of the then National Security Adviser (NSA) to his account, which the latter denied flatly.
But Fayose, known to be very outspoken and harsh critic of the present administration had purportedly distributed through social media fraudulent indictment of one Aisha Buhari (NOT Nigeria’s President’s wife-AISHA BUHARI); but another con woman who shielded her true identity and hid herself under the name-Aisha Buhari. This criminally minded fraudster was arrested and indicted in United States during the trial of the now convicted United States Congressman William Jefferson’s bribery scandal.
Aso Rock, Nigeria’s seat of power believes keeping quiet and allowing a bogus lies by a sitting governor in the country to go unreplied would have meant complacency and truth in the minds of undiscerning generality of the people. In a press statement issued today by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity he tore into shreds all the castles of lies built by the obviously desperate governor.
The Presidency has dismissed as laughable the desperate attempt by Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State to link President Buhari’s wife Aisha to US Congressman William Jefferson’s bribery scandal for which the American lawmaker was convicted in 2009.
Reacting to Fayose’s allegations in a press statement, Garba said ordinarily the presidency would have ignored Fayose because he is a man “childishly obsessed with the desire to grab the headlines and insulting people at will because of his incurably boorish instincts.”
Garba explained however that the presidency chose to respond on this occasion for the sake of innocent Nigerians who might be misled by Fayose’s shameless and blatant distortion of facts. He said ignoring Fayose carries the risk of giving traction and credibility to outright and brazen falsehoods inconsistent with the status of anybody that calls himself a Governor or leader.
According to Shehu, “Aisha had no direct, indirect or the remotest connection with William Jefferson’s corruption scandal in the United States.”
He challenged Fayose to tell Nigerians if the so-called Aisha whose pictures he proudly, but ignorantly shared, was the same Aisha married to President Muhammadu Buhari, or if the Aisha of his idle imagination had any relationship by blood or any relationship in whatever form, with President Buhari’s wife.
Shehu also challenged Fayose to produce evidence from the records of investigation and subsequent trial of Jefferson to prove that Buhari’s wife Aisha was in anyway linked to that scandal. He explained that common names alone are not enough to automatically link innocent people to crimes or scandals, especially in an era of identity thieves.
He further challenged Fayose to show proof when and where Aisha Buhari was invited for interrogation in connection with Congressman William Jefferson’s bribery scandal, let alone indicted for a crime locally or abroad.
According to the Presidential Media Aide, free speech does not entitle Governor Fayose to falsely accuse innocent people of crimes they knew nothing about.
He warned Fayose that Aisha Buhari is entitled to protect her reputation from being recklessly maligned, adding that political opposition is not a licence to attack people’s reputation brazenly without legal consequences.
