A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Jesutega Onokpasa, has criticized a spokesperson for the President, Mr Bayo Onanuga, stating that Onanuga is giving a misleading impression of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the public.
Onokpasa, who spoke regarding the ongoing court matter between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and ex-Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, said Onanuga was misrepresenting the President’s involvement in the case.
In a statement he signed, Onokpasa, a lawyer and Chairman of the Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG), asserted that Onanuga should have allowed the courts to decide the matter instead of appearing to be obsessed with Yahaya Bello.
Onokpasa said, “Onanuga keeps tactlessly intervening in this matter, creating the impression that President Bola Tinubu is behind former Governor Bello’s troubles.”
He added, “Contrary to the rather perplexing insinuations of Onanuga, former Governor Yahaya Bello is most certainly not hiding under ‘the agbada’ of anyone but is firmly under the protection of the law as a litigant in a pending case in court.
“I read a report in which presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga stated in an interview with Laolu Akande that former Kogi State Governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello is hiding ‘under the agbada’ of his successor, Governor Usman Ododo.
“From the report, it appears Akande had asked Onanuga why the police cannot assist the EFCC in arresting Yahaya Bello, which elicited Onanuga’s response.
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“Both Onanuga and Akande are seasoned and accomplished journalists, but apparently neither is a lawyer, hence their display of ignorance regarding the law and the judicial process.
“First of all, a person in court cannot be said to be hiding under anything unless one wants to suggest that it is possible to hide under the law. Yahaya Bello is in court attempting to enforce his fundamental human rights and therefore cannot be deemed to be hiding from the same law he seeks to avail himself of.
“It is dishonest and disingenuous for him to pretend that he does not know that the same Yahaya Bello had gone to the headquarters of the EFCC, was told to go home, and later, at the dead of night, the EFCC requested him to stage a fake arrest for their twisted purposes.
“Contrary to the rather perplexing insinuations of Onanuga, former Governor Bello is certainly not hiding under ‘the agbada’ of anyone but is firmly under the protection of the law as a litigant in a pending case in court.
“I can’t imagine why Bayo Onanuga is so obsessed with Yahaya Bello that, instead of allowing the courts to decide the matter, he continues to intervene tactlessly, creating the impression that our President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is actually the one behind former Governor Bello’s troubles.”
