Festus Keyamo (SAN), Minister of State, Labour and Employment, is the Director of Public Affairs and Chief Spokesperson, Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council. In this interview, he speaks on the calls for the arrest of Atiku Abubakar, former Vice- President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for alleged corrupt practices. He also bares his mind on developments ahead of next month’s presidential election. TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI brings the excerpt

You have always predicted that the ‘jungle will soon mature’ with regards to the 2023 presidential election. With just a month away to the election, can you say that you have been proven right?

The full meaning of jungle will mature in literal terms is that when you get to the final stretch of the campaign, that is when those who have the capacity and political experience will survive. Winning a presidential election is not for political neophytes or those without network and structures. At the earlier stage, you start shouting and making noise that ‘I want to run for presidency’ like we have seen in the past with people like Dele Momodu. It is very easy to start the presidential race but when the final stretch begins, that is when they know that it is not as easy as they think. Many of them will drop out and quit the race while others will become spokespersons to other presidential candidates. So, as I speak with you now, it appears the jungle is maturing.

On the calls for Atiku’s arrest by your party over the SPV saga, his campaign team have said you hired the services of a blackmailer to tarnish his image. How will you respond to that?

It is unfortunate that some of the people who say such things will like to ignore the facts. Facts are sacred. No matter how much you want to wrap the facts around political insinuations, no matter how you want to paint it with unfair motives, facts are sacred. The facts are extremely straightforward and unfortunately for them, this whistleblower is not coming from our ranks. We don’t even know him. we just woke up one morning and saw the news everywhere like every other person. This whistleblower, if you look at the documents and mails he presented, if you even simply google his name, you will see that for many years, he has been a close associate of Atiku Abubakar. So, it is not a situation where somebody somewhere went to manufacture somebody from nowhere to tell tales by moonlight. Go to your google and put Michael Achimugu and Atiku, you will see their relationship goes back by many years. So, these are facts that are sacred. What then is our business in all of these? It is just like the same thing that is happening with the G-5 governors. It is their own internal wranglings that threw up the G-5. So, if Atiku cannot keep his house together, he cannot keep his aides together, he cannot keep trusted people together around him, what is our business? So, the facts are simple that this gentleman is actually a whistleblower in every sense of the word. He has brought documents , emails, voicenotes and all kinds of evidence to back his claim. In that voice note which we have independently confirm to be Atiku’s voice. Let any Nigerian listen to it, they will tell you it is Atiku’s voice.

Don’t forget that the voice note did not come from anywhere. There were e-mails preceding the voicenotes. The email was that the gentleman asked Atiku ‘sir, there is an allegation against you in the press as at 2019’. He replied that tell them it is SPV. The gentleman said ‘what is SPV?’ These are all exchanges by e-mail. Then he picked his phone and called the gentleman and began to speak. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for Nigerians, the boy recorded the call. He said SPV means Special Purpose Vehicle that when himself and Obasanjo came into office, they decided and colluded against the interest of Nigerians to form companies and put their trusted aides and friends as directors and shareholders of these companies.

Daniel Bwala, lawyer and one of the spokesperson of the Atiku Campaign said the suit you instituted is an embarrassment to the legal profession because you listed buildings as defendants. Was it mistake on your part or a deliberate inclusion?

It is a big embarrassment to hear such from him. Yes, I listed as First defendant Atiku Abubakar Campaign Office in Wuse II Abuja. The second defendant is Federal Secretariat Complex, Annex III, Shehu Shagari Way, Abuja while the Third defendant is Plot 802, Constitution Avenue, Central Area, Abuja. The 4th defendant is Plot 301/302, Institution and Research Cadastral, District Jabi, Abuja. These are addresses for service. You must provide addresses to serve your paper which I did. It is just an embarrassment to hear such comment from a lawyer. It is a huge embarrassment and I couldn’t help but laugh. I’m sure he did not even read the court papers before he started talking.
https://independent.ng/atiku-should-stop-blaming-apc-for-his-predicaments-keyamo/

E go clear your eyes soon
Massive defections going on in the north
Tinubu has lost north already
Peter obi and Tinubu will share Southwest 50 50
Just dey play

You mean the man who was stoned yesterday 😃😃😃😃

This election as I'm seeing it might cause chaos that could result to a great tribulation.😒😑

TenHag:
You too show yourself. You're a lawyer and fed.minister and not a court jester

Forget that empty brain

2023 presidential election is actually between Tinubu and Atiku.

Winning chances are:

Tinubu: 65%
Atiku: 30%
Others: 5%

Wrong topic.. Obi was not even mentioned.

oyin44:
You mean the man who was stoned yesterday 😃😃😃😃

But I thought northerners are now in love with the subhumans who have been calling them cows.

Pandora Obituary people said northerners are cows, yet went to beg cows to vote them. Dem never see anything.

Nice one

Nigeria will be great again with obi

shuttox:
E go clear your eyes soon
Massive defections going on in the north
Tinubu has lost north already
Peter obi and Tinubu will share Southwest 50 50
Just dey play

One of the inherited IPOB once said that Pandora Obituary will win SW with 60% votes

But what has changed now, why 50--50 now.


Neophytes ND minnows just they misleading Pandora Obituary

KingKO22:

One of the inherited IPOB once said that Pandora Obituary will win SW with 60% votes

But what has changed now, why 50--50 now.


Neophytes ND minnows just they misleading Pandora Obituary

You are bitter bro
Accept the truth and live long
Follow your conscience and vote the best candidate
You know the truth but it's bitter in your mouth

Obi is their daily pill. If they don’t mention him… they will not sleep

okay