Fani-Kayode demand N5b compensation in 14 days

Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has sort for N5 billion within the period of 14 days, as damage to his personality and integrity violated by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, while featuring on Channels Television programme, “Hard Copy,” where he alleged that Fani-Kayode during his time as Minister of Aviation, embezzled the sum of N2bn meant for the repairs of Port Harcourt International Airport runway while in office.

Ameachi said that the then former Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili, made the payment of N2billion as part of the state government’s contribution towards the success of the project.

In reaction, Chief Kayode described the allegation as absurd, saying that he was not given any money by the erstwhile governor Peter Odili.

In a statement signed and made available to our correspondent in Jos, Fani-Kayode said, “first and foremost, I wasn’t given any money by Rivers State Government, it was my predecessor’s office that was given a loan by Rivers State Government and the money was not paid to Aviation, it was paid to FAAN.

“Professor Aborishade was Minister at the time not me and the money was paid into FAAN’s account and about N350m was set out of it before I became Minister.

“By the time I got into office, there was N1.6bn left in the FAAN account and they told me about it.”

He added that, “we gave Julius Berger N1.5bn which was 50 percent paid for the runway and they did the work, the runway was completed before I left office and was commissioned about a month after we left office, we left N132m in FAAN account”, he said.

However, taken a step further, Mr Kayode through his lawyers, DPC Attorneys and Solicitors, in a letter dated DPC/Abj/04/034/2017, accuses Mr. Rotimi Ameachi, the Minister of Transport, for Character Defamation of Chief Fani-Kayode and have requested that Ameachi should enter into negotiation with them (Lawyers), for the sum of N5 billion, being a token amount for the penitence, as opposed to the magnitude of infraction caused to their client’s nobility.

The copy of the letter which was made available to our correspondent, stated that Mr. Ameachi has 14 days from the receipt of the letter to comply with the highlighted mitigating measures and failure which will leave their client (Fani-Kayode), with no preferred alternative than to seek redress in Court, adding that, “the said redress which shall also include a claim that you are unfit to continue to hold the office of Minister of Transportation, because your defamatory and slanderous remarks were borne out of an inept appreciation appreciation of basic workings and operations of the Aviation Sector”, it read.