TheCable

Femi Fani-Kayode, a former minister of aviation and member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council, says he has been invited by the Department of State Services (DSS) over a tweet.

Fani-Kayode said he had quoted a newspaper report that Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), met with some unnamed army general.

In a tweet on Sunday, the former minister said the army has since denied the claim.

Glad that the Army has cleared the air & denied reports about a meeting between officers & @Atiku. Happy that the newspaper report I referred to has proved to be FALSE. As I said, "if true", it would have been troubling. I commend the Military for their commitment to democracy.1/

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— Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) February 12, 2023

In a statement on Monday, Fani-Kayode said he had initially dismissed a text message inviting him to the office of the secret police until he got a formal invitation.

The former minister said he would honour the invitation.

“I found it interesting that a call came from one of Atiku’s dogs for me to be arrested by the security agencies yesterday and had it not been for the fact that the DSS had actually sent a text to me two days earlier I may have thought that they were acting on the instructions of what can only be described as a hopeless and desperate presidential candidate, opposition party and PCC who are clutching at straws, drowning fast, seeking to silence those that give them sleepless nights, shivering in despair and staring defeat in the face in the upcoming presidential election,” he said.

“Clearly the DSS were not influenced by Atiku and were simply doing their job by inviting me on a matter that needs explanation and clarification and for a thorough interrogation.

“And of course being a responsible and law-abiding citizen I will present myself before them accordingly.

“Unlike cowards like Emefiele, Atiku, and their strange bedfellows I do not fear my own shadow and neither do I shiver and shake when I am invited by the security agencies.

“I always honor their invitations when properly invited because that is the right and proper thing to do.

“This is all the more so when it touches and concerns matters of national security which I take very seriously and when it involves agencies like the DSS who are professional and thorough in their methods and approach.

“I have nothing to hide and consequently I will present myself before the DSS this morning as I have been asked to do.

“I maintain my utter contempt for Atiku and the vermin that are around him and no matter what happens to me today or at any other time, know that as long as there is life in me I will oppose the darkness and evil that they represent.

“I am used to arrest, interrogation, detention, prosecution and so much more and have suffered these indignities on many occasions over the last 15 years.”

Fani-Kayode said it is not a crime “to express my concerns about the despicable activities of Atiku”.