Former Aviation Minister,
Femi Fani-Kayode, has
withdrawn the controversial
comment he made a week
after Bianca Ojukwu
threatened to sue him for
him saying they had
an “intimate relationship”
In a statement through his
lawyer, Rotimi Akinola, on
Thursday, Mr. Fani-Kayode
accepted that he erred by
making the comment but said
it was “bizarre, absurd and
inexplicable” that the wife of
the late Biafran warlord,
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-
Ojukwu, claimed they were
never acquainted.
“As our client said earlier
through his press secretary
some of the words he used to
describe his friendship with
Ambassador Ojukwu in his
article titled ”A Word For
Those Who Call Me A Tribalist”
were indiscreet,” Mr. Fani-
Kayode’s lawyer said in the
statement.
“He hereby withdraws those
words,” he added.
News of Mr. Fani-Kayode’s
withdrawal of the comments
came just as it was learnt that
several concerned highly
placed Nigerians were
reaching out to both Mr. Fani-
Kayode and Mrs. Ojukwu with
a view to amicably resolving
the differences between them.
One of those who initiated the
peace moves but pleaded not
to be named said both parties
were cooperating with the
efforts at reconciling them.
He said the statement by Mr.
Fani-Kayode’s lawyer was part
of the measures suggested by
the mediators.
A few weeks ago, Mr. Fani-
Kayode had written the article
where he sought to allay the
outrage caused by an earlier
controversial piece titled ‘The
Bitter Truth About the Igbos.’
In the article, Mr. Fani-Kayode
had disclosed that he had had
a “long standing and intimate
relationship” with Mrs.
Ojukwu, former beauty queen
and daughter of a state
governor in the Second
Republic.
The claims angered Mrs.
Ojukwu, Nigeria’s Ambassador
to Spain, who directed her
lawyers to request Mr. Fani-
Kayode to retract his
statement.
In his statement on Thursday,
Mr. Fani-Kayode, who was also
a Minister of Culture and
Tourism, insisted that he knew
Mrs. Ojukwu in the early to
mid-80′s when he was a
student at London University
and Cambridge University
respectively.
“They were good friends at the
time and they had a few
mutual friends who are still
alive today,” Mr. Fani-Kayode
said through his lawyer.
“The bizarre, absurd and
inexplicable assertion that
they were not friends and that
Ambassador Ojukwu has never
met our client is patently false.
“Though he has not seen her
for over 25 years he spoke to
her on the phone when her
husband passed on last year,”
he added.
Last week, Mrs. Ojukwu’s
lawyers, Wall Street Attorneys
threatened to commence a
legal action against the
controversial ex-minister if he
fails to retract his comments
stating that their client was
“outraged” and “embarrassed”
by Mr. Fani-Kayode’s claims.
Source: Premium Times
Femi Fani-Kayode, has
withdrawn the controversial
comment he made a week
after Bianca Ojukwu
threatened to sue him for
him saying they had
an “intimate relationship”
In a statement through his
lawyer, Rotimi Akinola, on
Thursday, Mr. Fani-Kayode
accepted that he erred by
making the comment but said
it was “bizarre, absurd and
inexplicable” that the wife of
the late Biafran warlord,
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-
Ojukwu, claimed they were
never acquainted.
“As our client said earlier
through his press secretary
some of the words he used to
describe his friendship with
Ambassador Ojukwu in his
article titled ”A Word For
Those Who Call Me A Tribalist”
were indiscreet,” Mr. Fani-
Kayode’s lawyer said in the
statement.
“He hereby withdraws those
words,” he added.
News of Mr. Fani-Kayode’s
withdrawal of the comments
came just as it was learnt that
several concerned highly
placed Nigerians were
reaching out to both Mr. Fani-
Kayode and Mrs. Ojukwu with
a view to amicably resolving
the differences between them.
One of those who initiated the
peace moves but pleaded not
to be named said both parties
were cooperating with the
efforts at reconciling them.
He said the statement by Mr.
Fani-Kayode’s lawyer was part
of the measures suggested by
the mediators.
A few weeks ago, Mr. Fani-
Kayode had written the article
where he sought to allay the
outrage caused by an earlier
controversial piece titled ‘The
Bitter Truth About the Igbos.’
In the article, Mr. Fani-Kayode
had disclosed that he had had
a “long standing and intimate
relationship” with Mrs.
Ojukwu, former beauty queen
and daughter of a state
governor in the Second
Republic.
The claims angered Mrs.
Ojukwu, Nigeria’s Ambassador
to Spain, who directed her
lawyers to request Mr. Fani-
Kayode to retract his
statement.
In his statement on Thursday,
Mr. Fani-Kayode, who was also
a Minister of Culture and
Tourism, insisted that he knew
Mrs. Ojukwu in the early to
mid-80′s when he was a
student at London University
and Cambridge University
respectively.
“They were good friends at the
time and they had a few
mutual friends who are still
alive today,” Mr. Fani-Kayode
said through his lawyer.
“The bizarre, absurd and
inexplicable assertion that
they were not friends and that
Ambassador Ojukwu has never
met our client is patently false.
“Though he has not seen her
for over 25 years he spoke to
her on the phone when her
husband passed on last year,”
he added.
Last week, Mrs. Ojukwu’s
lawyers, Wall Street Attorneys
threatened to commence a
legal action against the
controversial ex-minister if he
fails to retract his comments
stating that their client was
“outraged” and “embarrassed”
by Mr. Fani-Kayode’s claims.
Source: Premium Times
posted from Bloggeroid
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