· Atiku asks Senate, CCB to investigate, publish report on N52bn contract
· My US home not acquired with public funds, says Keyamo
Spokesperson of the jus dissolved All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has come under severe attack following his alleged illegal purchase of United States of America (USA) house with money allegedly obtained from the federal government approved N52 Special Works Programme fund for workers in the 774 local government areas of the country.
It would be recalled that the federal government had approved the Special Intervention fund for casual worker in the 774 local government areas, as a part of palliative during the COVID- 19 ravaged period in the country.
The Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Phrank Shaibu has called on the National Assembly to publish a report of its investigation on the N52 billion Special Works Programme implemented by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr. Festus Keyamo.
Shaibu said this in a statement while reacting to Keyamo’s acquisition of a house in the United States at the cost of over $300,000.
Recall that in 2021, the Federal Government had in a bid to ameliorate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, approved the sum of N52bn for the hiring of 774,000 Nigerians across all the local government areas in the country for three months.
The 774,000 Nigerians were hired to take on menial jobs such as clearing of drainages, sweeping of markets, cutting grass and other community services.
Keyamo was alleged to have orchestrated the sacking of the Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Nasiru Argungu, while insisting that he was in charge of the N52bn project which the National Assembly noted was a flop.
Reports by both the Senate and the House of Representatives had syndicated that many of the beneficiaries of the funds did not get anything, while others who got did not do any job, leading to an earlier question on how Keyamo ran the programme which specifically fell on his office as Minister of State for Labour and Employment.
The National assembly however promised to launch an investigation into the matter, but the investigation is yet to yield any result as the 10th NASS winds up in June.
Reacting to Keyamo’s claim that he owns several houses in the US, Shaibu said: “The National Assembly had described the special works programme as a sham and also questioned how the funds were spent. Keyamo had, for the last two years, defended the shambolic implementation of the programme.
“With his open confession that he has acquired houses in the US, I hereby call on the National Assembly to publish its report on the failed project. I also call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately probe the finances of Festus Keyamo, who only became a senior advocate two years before becoming a minister.
“It is public record that Keyamo was an activist and a prosecutor for the EFCC, doing mostly pro bono cases before taking public office. However, he now boasts of being a real estate mogul after becoming a minister. This is laughable and an insult to the sensibilities of Nigerians.
“In any case, Keyamo’s time as minister of state for labour and employment witnessed the highest level of unemployment, which KPMG says is about to hit 40%. Under Keyamo, universities also witnessed prolonged strikes, as ASUU proceeded on 10 months strike in 2020 and eight months industrial action in 2021. Keyamo clearly failed as a minister but grew wealthier in the process through his so-called real estate business. He thus needs to be investigated with immediate effect.”
“Keyamo had said that by letters dated March 6, 2019, before he was appointed a Minister, he wrote to the relevant government agencies, informing them of the closure of his foreign accounts and the repatriation of his funds to the country since Nigerian law does not allow public officials to operate foreign bank accounts.”
Shuaibu noted that the former Human Right lawyer further stated, “My assets declaration is there for all to see. Some of us don’t need government funds or patronage to get by. Whatever we do and whoever we support is out of our deep convictions.”
Reacting, however, Shaibu dared Keyamo to publish his asset declaration form as submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau in 2019.
He said since Keyamo had boasted many times about being an EFCC prosecutor and an anti-corruption champion, he ought to be bold enough to make his asset declaration forms public to prove that he was telling the truth.
Shaibu said, “Keyamo has one month left on his tenure as minister, which means he will need to declare his assets before the CCB next month. Let him make public his asset declaration forms, before and after office, to prove to Nigerians that he did not steal.
“The truth about Keyamo is that he is a hypocrite, a rabble-rouser who pretends to be on the side of the masses but is only after his stomach. He started as a disciple of the great Gani Fawehinmi but has since strayed from Gani’s ideals by serving as Spokesman for a man who was an anathema to Gani and who Gani had accused of forgery and fraud – Bola Tinubu.”
Dismissing the allegation, Keyamo said he acquired his properties both in the country and abroad legally before becoming a minister in 2019.
The Minister in a tweet on Saturday said: “By letters dated March 6, 2019 (long before I was appointed a Minister and immediately, I was appointed a board member of the NDIC), and in line with our constitution, I wrote to the relevant government agencies, informing them of the closure of my foreign account(s) and the repatriation of my funds to the country.”
Nigerian law does not allow public officials to operate foreign bank accounts.
According to Keyamo, the funds were some savings he made “as a private legal practitioner and a property investor over decades.” He added that he did not want them “lying idly” in his bank account.
“The numbers of those accounts, both abroad and in Nigeria were clearly stated in those letters. Those foreign funds were lying in my accounts until my appointment as a Minister later in 2019 and formed part of my asset’s declaration.
“In 2021, I again wrote to the relevant agencies (by letters dated January 22, 2021), informing them of the movement of those funds out of the country to purchase a property as a better investment decision.
“I have the acknowledged copies of those letters and those chats and replies are still on my phone, showing the dates of those chats.”
The minister said it is laughable to suggest that after his hard work of over 30 years, he could not afford “a relatively modest property”.