Call For Arrest: Melaye Blasts Fani-Kayode, Says Ex-Minister Attention-seeker

A two-time member of the National Assembly and spokesperson of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign 2023, Senator Dino Melaye, has berated a former Minister of Aviation and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, for calling for his (Melaye) arrest for revealing in a recent interview that money was spent during the national convention of the People Democratic Party (PDP), where Dr. Iyorchia Ayu emerged as the national chairman of the party.

Recall that earlier on Sunday, Fani-Kayode had issued a statement, calling for the arrest of Melaye, Ayu and members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP over what he called a confession by Melaye over the manner Ayu emerged as PDP national chairman.

Fani-Kayode said, “This is a grave and serious matter. It is a public confession of a criminal offence made by a senior figure within the PDP cabal that committed the said offence. It follows that Ayu’s election was a product of corruption and criminality and so was Waziri Atiku Abubakar’s as their party’s presidential flagbearer at a later convention which was conducted by him.”

But reacting hours later, Melaye described Fani-Kayode’s action as ‘incoherent gibberish’ produced from the former Minister’s ‘temporary relief from insanity.’

He reiterated that there was no way a national convention of a party will hold without money being spent for logistics and others, hence he did not breach any known law by stating the obvious in the said interview.

In a statement personally signed by Senator Melaye on Sunday night and titled, ‘Sorry FFK, PDP Has No Food For The Lazy’, the former federal lawmaker said Fani-Kayode was merely seeking attention having employed ‘all forms of ingratiation’ to be recruited by the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

“My attention has just been called to a statement issued by Femi Fani-Kayode, which as usual, was an incoherent gibberish produced from his temporary relief from insanity. How can one explain his momentary consciousness to react to an interview long granted, if not that his world of reality is not in sync with the world of sound minds.

“His comment at best was a mixture of prevarication, lack of comprehension and a voyage in meddlesomeness and idleness. Truly, an idle hand and heart like that of FFK is the devil’s residence. Ordinarily, his rambling would have been ignored, but in this age of unrestricted access to the media even by unwholesome minds, care must be taken to put issues in the right context and perspective.

“The roller-coaster FFK is merely seeking to receive attention, having employed all forms of ingratiation to be recruited by the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, but failed.

“To be sure, he contacted Timi Frank to help lobby for a job in the Campaign Directorate, but where is the record to help his desire? As a serial hustler around food dispensers, FFK’s misadventure into the issue of the leadership of the PDP is nothing but a subtle campaign to be noticed and rewarded by prospective paymasters.

“Nigerians cannot forget in a hurry how FFK bootlicked and cajoled Yahaya Bello during his presidential experiment, but later jumped to the Presidential train of Senator Ahmed Lawan in the throes of the Presidential primary election of the All Progressives Congress in an unabashed and unconscionable manner. Now that campaign structures have been formed by Parties and he’s sidelined, having lost face everywhere, he has found the PDP as the access card to his next meal.

“The reality is that Professor Iyorchia Ayu, a man of repute and impeccable political profile was supported by Governors and members of the Party. It is not rocket science that though Professor Ayu emerged by consensus, a convention was held and delegates were mobilised to Abuja. Is FFK so obtuse that he can not understand that delegates could not have trekked from everywhere to Abuja without being transported? Has he not recovered well enough from the doses administered during his rehabilitation to understand that Governors and other leaders supported delegates from all states to the National Convention? Is he equating the sound mind of Judges with his own reprobate mind that he’s threatening to go to court over a matter that he has neither locus standi nor a reasonable cause?

“Often when the issue of FFK comes up, I easily call to mind the time-standing analysis by President Olusegun Obasanjo of his personality, and the assertion that food is FFK’s price. His likes are appropriately described in Philippians 3:19, as belonging to the class of those ‘ whose god is their belly, and whose glory is their shame’. Sorry, PDP has no food for the lazy!

“And knowing FFK’s reputation for political scavenging, let me also ask him the unanswered question. FFK, who bankrolled your statement?” Melaye queried.