Femi Fani-Kayode has once more responded to the accusation made by Rotimi Amaechi almost 3 years ago, alleging that he embezzled 2 billion Naira during his tenure as the Minister of Aviation.
The allegation was made by Amaechi during an interview on Channels TV in May 2017, where he claimed that Fani-Kayode absconded with the 2 billion Naira provided by the Rivers State government to repair the dilapidated Port Harcourt Airport runway.
Amaechi alleged that the funds were given to Fani-Kayode by former Rivers State Governor, Peter Odili. He asserted, “Those who shared in the corruption are busy dancing about it. Fani-Kayode, when he was Minister of Aviation, Dr. Peter Odili’s government gave him N2 billion to fix the runway.”
“It’s not there in the records of Aviation. I’m the minister of Transportation, I have that record. It’s not there.
“He went away with the N2 billion. These are statements of fact.
“The runway was closed for two years and Fani-Kayode left with the money. Is that the kind of character I will speak to? We are not on the same level.”
While the interview took place in 2017 and Femi Fani-Kayode responded to it at the time, he felt compelled to address it again after the video resurfaced over the weekend, with many publications incorrectly portraying the allegation as recent.
Femi Fani-Kayode took to Twitter to clarify that the video is dated. He shared the old video where Rotimi Amaechi made the accusation and another video of his own response to it.
He reiterated that the airport’s runway was reconstructed and fully funded during his tenure as Minister of Aviation. He tweeted: “The runway at Port Harcourt Int. Airport was re-built & fully paid for by me when I was Min. of Aviation. If anyone has any doubts about that they should ask Julius Berger who were the contractors. The runway was commissioned & airport opened shortly after we left office.”
“…Those who falsely asserted on @channelstv two years ago that I did not build the runway and that I ran away with the 3 billion naira that was used to build it are sick. We settled that matter in a debate on @channelstv two years ago.”
Below are the videos shared by Femi Fani-Kayode. One is of Amaechi’s interview and the other is the reply FFK gave to the interview years ago.
…Those who falsely asserted on @channelstv two years ago that I did not build the runway and that I ran away with the 3 billion naira that was used to build it are sick. We settled that matter in a debate on @channelstv two years ago.
Watch this:
— Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) February 9, 2020
— Mmiri enwe Ilo (@sunnychuks) February 9, 2020