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Former Nigeria Aviation Minister and chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Femi Fani-Kayode drums support for Femi Gbajabiamila’s speakership race.
Fani-Kayode although berates “the way he conducted aspects of his campaign”, he, however, expressed his support for former House leader.
“I still believe that he deserves to be elected Speaker of the House and I support his candidacy,” Fani-Kayode tweeted.
The two leading contenders for the coveted position of the speaker are Gbajabiamila, representing Surulere Federal Constituency of Lagos State and Mohamed Umaru Bago, representing Chanchaga Federal Constituency of Niger State.
Both are members of the APC with requisite cognate legislative experiences.
The former minister also exonerated Gbajabiamila of his alleged criminal case.
“I have known him for 40 years and I assure you that he is NOT a criminal, he has NOT been convicted of anything in America,” he said.
For years, Gbajabiamila has been accused of perpetrating fraud in the United States where he obtained a law degree and practiced until his return to Nigeria to join partisan politics from the platform of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD).
Local media reported that Gbajabiamila was found guilty of fraud by the US Supreme Court of Georgia in February 2007 and was suspended from practicing law in the US for the offence.
Specifically, SaharaReporters noted that Gbajabiamila, with bar number 288330, was suspended from practising law in the US for 36 months on February 26, 2007, by the highest court in the state of Georgia.
Gbajabiamila, SaharaReporters said, admitted to withholding $25,000 from his client before the court.
The $25,000 sum was received by Gbajabiamila as damages claims for his client. But the client didn’t receive the money at the time, the report states.
Gbajabiamila has since denied any wrongdoing in the US.
On Wednesday, the Director-General of Femi/Wase Campaign, Jibrin Abdulmumin, said Gbajabiamila had never been accused of corruption and had no corruption case in Nigeria or anywhere in the world.
“For the benefit of doubt, we wish to once again state emphatically clear that Hon Femi Gbajabiamila has never been convicted for any crime in the United States of America, Nigeria or any other country around the world for that matter,” Abdulmumin said in Abuja.
“He has never been accused of corruption and has no corruption case hanging on his neck in Nigeria or any where around the world. He has not committed perjury and has never committed perjury in Nigeria or any country of the world,” he added.
