‘Festus sued Tinubu for certificate forgery’ | ‘No, I sued Lagos assembly’ — Bwala, Keyamo trade words

Daniel Bwala, spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar presidential campaign, has alleged that Festus Keyamo sued Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer, over alleged certificate forgery.

Bwala said he has evidence that proves that Keyamo, minister of state for labour and employment, challenged Tinubu’s educational qualifications.

The Atiku campaign spokesperson spoke on Tuesday during an interview on Politics Paradigm, a Channels Television programme.

“I have a decision here that Festus Keyamo — if I may quote Keyamo V. House Of Assembly, Lagos State (2002)18 NWLR (Pt. 799) 605 — was challenging the certificates of the person he is marketing at the moment. So, this is nothing personal. It is a law report,” Bwala said.

“This is a supreme court decision right in the case that I have cited… that people can check and would just see the lie. They say the appellant alleged among others that as a legal practitioner, he has been confronted by some of his clients who wanted to understand certain things they considered important relating to their contesting the governorship in Lagos state.

“He (Keyamo) further alleged certificate forgery against the former governor of Lagos state, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that the latter was not qualified for the office of the governor.

“[And] that his certificates that he was parading prior to this time, everything Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented which granted him opportunity to run and win elections as a governor was staged, was forged, was faked — and this is not a mere slip of the tongue.

“He went to court, not representing a client, he was the appellant in the case; Festus Keyamo vs Lagos State House of Assembly.”

‘I SUED LAGOS ASSEMBLY’

Keyamo, who is the spokesperson for the APC presidential campaign council, has however denied suing Tinubu for certificate forgery.

In a statement, Keyamo said the law report cited by Bwala was instituted to “unravel the truth and the real constitutional powers” of the Lagos house of assembly.

Keyamo added that he is “the greatest defender of Asiwaju on the issue today”.

“I never sued Tinubu. No. I sued the house of assembly seeking an interpretation of the law,” he said.

“Once the supreme court pronounces on an issue, it becomes binding on even the lawyer who loses and he is bound to obey and defend the judgment of the court.

“So assuming (which is not conceded) that I made any kind of accusation in the matter, once the supreme court ruled, that was the end of the matter and from that moment, it behoves me to stop pushing a matter already laid to rest by the highest court of the land and defend the decision.

“Nigerians would be hearing from the horse’s mouth as to what actually transpired during the battle that raged then and how the matter was eventually laid to rest.”

Keyamo added that “these battles we waged were not borne out of bitterness and hate”.

“So, once the issue was laid to rest, we move on. Anyone who thinks I would still harbour any kind of resentment more than 20 years later should examine his/her head,” he said.