Lai Mohammed, in true manifestation of his name, told a lie, when he scolded the advocacy group Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) by saying that their use of ‘impudent’ language should “should have been reserved for those who did nothing in the first 500 days of the girls’ abduction”.
Of course Nigerians know that Lai Mohammed is synonymous with lying and it is no wonder that the Oby Ezekwesili led BBOG are firing at him, but to say that the Jonathan administration ‘did nothing’ to rescue the Chibok girls is a lie that will not go unchallenged. I will now give a timeline of events to prove unequivocally that Lai Mohammed is a liar and his words should henceforth be taken with a pinch of salt by Nigerians and the international community.
Timelines:
March 12, 2014: The then minister of state for education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, wrote the Governors of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa and advised them not to hold SSCE examinations in areas susceptible to the Boko Haram insurgency. This letter, with reference number HMSE/FME/147/VOL.1/150 and titled: ‘Security challenges and the conduct of the 2014 WASSCE and SSCE in Borno, Yobe and parts of Adamawa States’, is still available today should Lai Mohammed wish to read it.
April 14, 2014: Contrary to the advise given by the PDP led Federal Government of President Goodluck Jonathan, the APC led Government of Governor Kashim Shettima, for reasons best known to it, chose to ignore that advise and held the SSCE examinations in Chibok, a mainly Christian town that was susceptible to attacks from the Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram. On the day in question, the girls of Government Girls Secondary School Chibok were kidnapped by Boko Haram while preparing to write their final physics examinations.
Flash forward to April 2, 2016: Governor Kashim Shettima confesses in an interview with Premium Times that he, the chief security officer of the state, DID NOT inform then President Jonathan when the girls were kidnapped for reasons best known to him.
April 17, 2014: Exactly three days after the kidnap, President Jonathan who had been unaware of the issue because of the deliberate refusal of the APC led government of Borno state to brief him called for an emergency meeting at the Presidential villa.
May 4, 2014: After consistent confused and contradictory information from the Borno state Government and various other authority figures, the Presidency invited the principal actors in the Chibok saga to the Presidential villa to ascertain the truth. The Presidency was shocked at the non appearance by officials of the Borno state government. The governor’s wife who was invited shunned the event and when the then First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan saw the scanty representation from Borno she famously exclaimed ‘na only you waka come’?
May 6, 2014: The then National Publicity Secretary of the APC and now the current minister of information, Lai Mohammed, released a statement calling the Presidency’s intervention a ‘distraction’.
May 26, 2014: The Nigerian military revealed through Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, that it knew the location of the girls but could not attack because of fear of loss of lives of the girls after a similar operation in Sokoto to save an Italian and a Briton led to loss of lives of the hostages taken by an affiliate of Boko Haram.
Unspecified Date in May 2014: The Jonathan administration began secret negotiations to secure the release of the Chibok girls.
October 6, 2014: Then President Jonathan visits Niamey as part of efforts to secure the release of the Chibok girls with the help of the Nigerien government.
October 17, 2014: A truce was announced with Boko Haram after negotiations which was to allow for the release of the Chibok girls. The truce was broken by Boko Haram who reneged on their promise to release their captives.
There are other actions taken by the Jonathan admin which I have not listed here but the point I am making is that for Alhaji Lai Mohammed to say that that government did nothing is not just a lie, but a shameless attempt to rewrite history by a man who has scant regard for the truth. It is my prayer that the Chibok girls will be released but for that to happen, there must be complete transparency and truthfulness from government.
Finally let me say that a man like, Lai Mohammed, with an over bloated opinion of himself and the poverty inducing government in which he serves cannot argue with a man with an accurate command of the facts.
President Buhari's US trip fruitless – PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the recent US trip of President Muhammadu Buhari as a fruitless venture.
At a media briefing in Abuja on Sunday, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said events after Buhari’s visit to the US indicated that neither the President nor his party, the All Progressives Congress, had learnt anything from the trip.
“Now that the visit has come and gone, our fear is that nothing whatsoever has been learnt or gained. What we continue to receive as a nation have been embarrassing disagreements, accusations and counter-accusations, blames and denials on very important issues due to lack of tact and skill in the management of state matters by the APC-led administration.
“It is disheartening that rather than secure any sort of tangible gain for the fight against terrorism, which has lost steam under the APC watch, with insurgents, who were pushed to the verge of surrender by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, now surging back and spreading into the country, we get nothing but exchanges and disagreements between the Presidency and their American hosts.
“This is not only embarrassing but also a worrisome indication of crass ineptitude in the handling of international affairs on the part of the present administration.”
He urged the government to settle down and face the business of governance and the fight against insurgency with every sense of seriousness, especially given Buhari’s promise in his April 2, 2015 CNN interview to end the scourge two months after his inauguration.
The All Progressives Congress in its reaction described the PDP’s attack as a beer parlour gossip.
”Today’s statement is the most tortuous yet by the PDP and, honestly, sounds more like a compendium of beer parlour gossips and side talks than a serious criticism of a sitting government,”
”To be in opposition does not mean you have to constitute yourself to a nuisance by rushing to the press with all sorts of hot air statements. It is the quality, rather than the frequency, of your interventions that makes you relevant as an opposition in a democracy,” The party said in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The Plot Thickens! Femi Fani-Kayode sues APC, Spokesman for N5bn
Can we all agree that the 2015 elections is the most dramatic in Nigerian history?
Director of Media and Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode is also suing the All Progressives Congress, APC and its spokesman, Lai Mohammed for derogatory statements made against his personality.
Excerpts from the letter addressed to Lai Mohammed by Fani-
Kayode’s lawyer, Mr Whyteman Prekunomaa.
“We are solicitors to Chief Femi Fani — Kayode (hereinafter refereed to as Our Client). We write you pursuant to our Client’s instruction in respect of a publication on Tuesday, the 3rd day of March, 2015 on Page 6 of Nation Newspaper wherein you made a statement and same was printed with the above caption, and hereunder reproduced as follows:
Contrary to information being peddled by the Director of
Media and Publicity of the Jonathan campaign Organisation . Femi FaniKayode the All Progressives Congress (A PC) has said the party does not wish him any ill-health, “even though it is seriously concerned about
his mental state.”
“You (Lai Mohammed) are also to enter into negotiation for damages as we have firm instructions to claim five billion naira damages against you. Take notice, therefore, that it will amount to a specious gamble on your part, if you treat this letter with levity.”
Femi Fani-Kayode fires more shots at Tinubu, Lai Mohammed.
All these accusations, counter accusations, name-calling and fracas between both parties will end someday. Another one from Femi Fani-Kayode. This was posted on his facebook page.)
“It is not Femi Fani-Kayode but rather Bola Tinubu that slurs when he speaks. It is not Femi Fani-Kayode but rather Bola Tinubu that has to take 20 pills before he can go out. It is not Femi Fani-Kayode but Bola Tinubu that his hands shake when he tries to lift his fork and knife and eat.
It is not Femi Fani-Kayode but rather the spokesman of the APC, Lai Mohammed, that is rotting from inside and that has the chronically bad breath of a rabid poll cat. Lai’s breath is so bad that it is enough to knock out a polar bear from across the street.
It is not Femi Fani-Kayode but rather Lai Mohammed who is suffering from loose bowel movements and who defecates every other minute to the point that he often has to wear pampers when he goes on long journeys.
So, if anybody wants to talk about ill health. They should talk about themselves and not about me. I repeat my name is Femi Fani-Kayode, and nobody can kill me before my time. Nobody can cut me short.
I harbor no fear of violence but I do not take threats lightly. Neither do I fear for my life. Because I have never shed innocent blood and because I do not believe in violence or worship the devil, the Angel of the Lord will strike dead any person or any group of persons that seek to take my life or the life of any of my loved ones.
This I decree in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the God whose I am and the God whom I serve”
Below is the article that prompted Femi Fani-Kayode’s response. Tinubu released the statement via one of his Special Assistants.
“Fani-Kayode is not as smart as he thinks. If you read between the lines of his hysteria you see another extreme sentiment: that of surging desperation. His statement indicates that even he now realizes that his pay master has lost to Buhari/Osinbajo.
The game is over. The whistle has blown. What the fantasy man seeks to do is change the game. He seeks to run against Tinubu in hopes the outcome will be better. Fani now grasps at straw in the night wind.”
That FFK(Femi Fani-Kayode) is the best a ruling party can do as a spokesman speaks volumes about the PDP. They are bereft of talent and character. They are filled with lies and chicanery. FFK is simply the worst and most outspoken of a bad lot.”
“Instead of scaring the people away from the APC, his work scares people that someone so unfit is so close to the seat of power, someone so unhinged is given free rein to spit bile and call that public discourse. One must wonder who is unbalanced, the misfit or he who hires him. Keep at it FFK. Continue.”
“Most Nigerians are fed up with this government and desire change. They await eagerly that opportunity at the polls. They cannot tolerate four more years of a Fani Kayode, of his paymasters and his utterances. That is your agony Fani Kayode and of course that of the PDP and its gang of destroyers.
You will not be able to persuade majority of Nigerians who are prepared to use their vote for a positive change. And if only to shield the populace from your peculiar brand of abuse of power both you and your boss must go.”
“For the job he is hired to do, it is expected that a Fani Kayode will be blinded to the positive nature of the Buhari/Osinbajo ticket. If he has failed to read and do some research on the character of an Osinbajo, let me help him.
“Yemi Osinbajo is fiercely independent. A brilliant mind of great character and a consummate reformer and legal crusader. You will not dare speak of him in this manner.
The APC ticket is of people of great resolve. But because among your own crowd you have people who will willingly destroy not only our institutions and country you think so of others.
“APC is a party with people of impeccable character. Courageous and patriotic leaders who are out to rescue our nation. And you, Fani Kayode are on record to have said so in several interviews.”
“Femi Fani Kayode cannot just leave Tinubu alone because they see him as their political nemesis. But Tinubu will not be their dart board . If they want to see the culprit behind their flagging misfortune, they do not need to glare at Tinubu. They should go home and peer into the nearest mirror. Therein their trouble lies.
“Now that FFK has revealed why his party, the PDP has consistently persecuted Bola Tinubu through phony Code of Conduct Tribunal, massive unjustified attacks against his character and integrity, intimidation and harassment.
“They all have failed. In what is a classic case of abuse of power, the government you now work for have accused Tinubu in the past of baseless and unproven allegations whereas in your party, including yourself, there are wolves feasting on the commonwealth of the people.
“For a leadership that cannot define corruption and theft, we are left with a gang of plunderers. You have openly and secretly stolen and plundered the wealth of the nation without the slightest concern about morality and the suffering masses.”
Oath-taking claims: A desperate act by an ailing spokesperson- APC
The All Progressives Congress has branded the recent claim by Femi Fani-Kayode/Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, that former Lagos State Governor and APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is scheming to seize power from the President after polls, untrue and nauseating.
Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP-PCO, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode at a news conference in Abuja on Friday said,
“It should baffle well-meaning Nigerians why Tinubu has decided to draft Buhari, despite his age, acrimonious background and questionable health status, into the presidential race whilst ensuring that his stooge, Prof Osinbajo, was foisted on the general as vice presidential candidate.
“The reason is that the PDP-PCO wishes to use this forum to expose the ungodly plan by Tinubu to seize the presidency of Nigeria by subterfuge. You will recall how Tinubu wanted to be running mate to Buhari in spite of the nationwide resentment for Muslim-Muslim ticket that he and Buhari planned to foist on their party.
“Senator Tinubu had justified the ticket by saying that competence was the important thing and not the issue of religion. But when he and Buhari could not push through the agenda within the APC, he (Tinubu), after being given the opportunity to nominate a vice presidential candidate, decided to prop up his stooge in the person of Prof. Osinbajo.
“Now the real reason Tinubu nominated Osinbajo has been made known to us and we hereby offer a public service to the Nigerian people by drawing their national attention to it. Credible pieces of information at our disposal indicate that Tinubu has perfected plans to come to power through the back door.
“Tinubu, according to our information, has compelled Osinbajo to swear to an oath that after six months in office, he would resign as the vice president, in the unlikely event that their party wins. The wicked plot, as laid out by them, is to force Osinbajo to resign for Tinubu to be nominated by Buhari as his replacement.
“The ultimate objective of this plot is to ensure that Tinubu becomes President. The script is simple: given the questionable health of Buhari, Tinubu, who is desperate to be president for his own selfish reasons, will simply bid his time in the evil expectation that Buhari will not be able to go the whole hog.
“How wicked can those that hatched this plan be? How unfair can they be to the North, to Buhari and to Nigerians? We wish Buhari long life. Senator Tinubu’s dangerous plan is about getting power. This is sad. No thoroughbred Yoruba man or indeed Nigerian wants to get power through the misfortune of another person.
“But this is the perfidious path that Tinubu is passing through. This is repugnant. It will interest you to know that our information is strengthened by the very similar act of resignation which Senator Tinubu had planned to force on Pastor Tunde Bakare which you can all watch now.
Here’s the response by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
“Our presidential candidate’s globally-acclaimed outing has presented Nigerians, and indeed the global community, with a choice between a bumbling, ineffective, incoherent, clueless, visionless and incompetent President and an assertive, knowledgeable, dignified, purposeful and principled President-in-waiting.
“Having failed to discredit the (United Kingdom) outing with a rented crowd, some of whom confessed to have been paid to carry placards they did not even understand, the PDP and the Jonathan Administration have now resorted to making nauseating claims that are totally untrue, absolutely incomprehensible and nothing but sheer bunkum.”
“They have thrown everything imaginable at Gen. Buhari, but he has continued to wax stronger and stronger: They said he was not qualified, that he was too old, then they fabricated a medical report of an illness of their own choice, sponsored death wish adverts against him and instituted a myriad of court cases to stop him.
“After they failed to stop him, they went after the election itself, using the PVCs as a tool to launch a campaign for postponement and, when they realised that would not work, came up with the bogey of insecurity in the North-East to force a postponement of the election, hoping they can buy enough time to revive their electoral misfortune.
“With everything working against them, they engaged in a show of shame at The Chatham House that backfired badly, on the heels of their bare-faced lies that Gen. Buhari was hospitalised in London. The preposterous claim of a secret oath – reminiscent of what they do in their own party – by the apparently ailing spokesman for the Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, is their latest desperate act.”
APC Primaries: Kenny Saint Best loses out.
Gospel singer, Kenny Saint Best has lost her bid to represent Ikeja 01 Constituency at the House of Assembly primaries of the All Progressive Congress (APC). She lost to Folajimi Mohammed, son of APC chieftain Lai Mohammed.