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The Minister of State for Labor and Employment, Festus Keyamo, on Sunday blamed the call for his resignation as minister on his appointment as the spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council.
THE HIT reports that the transition monitoring group has called on Keyamo to resign over his appointment as the party’s campaign spokesman.
TMG chairman Awal Ibrahim Rafsanjani condemned the appointment, noting that Keyamo should resign as minister in order to fulfill his campaign task.
“The Transition Monitoring Group is calling on him (Keyamo) to step down and focus on his new job so that there is not too much conflict of interest and he can be productive in the work he is doing as speaker.
“Combining these roles is a complete conflict of interest. He should speak for the general public as a minister, but now his job is for his presidential candidate,” Rafsanjani told our correspondent in a telephone interview on Sunday.
But in a statement he personally signed on Sunday, Keyamo described Rafsanjani’s position as “untenable, ill-informed”, adding that he would continue to serve the country and the APC.
The statement was titled “The call for my resignation is a sign of alarm in the opposition camp.”
The statement read: “My attention has been drawn to a statement by a certain CSO alleging a conflict of interest between my role as a campaign spokesperson and as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“First, without intending to disparage them, these are people fully connected to opposition parties, but disguised as civil organizations. We know them. I cannot recall any statement like this from these people during the PDP era when PDP ministers were fully engaged in presidential campaign activities.
“For instance, in 2015, my brother, the Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Turaki, served as the Deputy Director-General (North) of the PDP/Jonathan Campaign Council. These heroes were silent.
“So you can be sure that this is the PDP speaking through one of their NGOs. Secondly, I am a full member of my party, APC, and I have the right to participate in the activities of the party. My party membership is deducted every month from my measly salary and sent to the party. Being a director of a campaign committee is like any other party activity.
“They want to deny me my basic human right to freedom of association because I am a minister. Third, there is no conflict of interest. I can’t see any. Do I use public resources for a campaign? Not at all. We have an APC campaign office and I have my well appointed private rooms, better equipped than my minister’s office. Even the car I use for media interviews is not a company car.
“Since I have been a minister, the ministry has not provided me with ONE car for personal use. I have sacrificed for the nation with my personal cars and funds. This has already been registered and my Permanent Secretary can confirm this. I give interviews after the work day or on weekends or on vacation.
“Fourth, campaign directors are volunteers; at least I am. We are not paid a single salary or allowance for our work, so the claim of double privilege (whatever that means) is incorrect. Fifth, what does the law say? Section 84 of the Electoral Act clearly states that political appointees must resign if they wish to contest for a party position or public office. There is no mention of ad hoc appointments for party work. So, strictly speaking, no law is being broken here.
“Therefore, the so-called position of these people is untenable, ill-informed and therefore rejected. They are alarmed by the staunch defense of our party and government that we are presenting and the impeccable projection of Asiwaju BOLA Ahmed Tinubu (our candidate) that we are making. I am sorry to disappoint them, but I will serve my country and my party.”
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