Former Minister of Aviation Femi Fani-Kayode is reportedly plotting a return to the All Progressives Congress (APC) because he is financially broke and already sold some of his properties.
Family sources revealed to SaharaReporters that the former minister is allegedly financially down and struggling to maintain his extravagant lifestyle.
It will be recalled that after Fani-Kayode’s meeting with the National Chairman of the APC caretaker committee, Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State and Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello in Abuja, the rumour mill went wild with reports that the PDP chieftain was set to defect.
Later, more reports emerged that not only Fani-Kayode but also four PDP governors are in defection talks with the APC ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Fani-Kayode on Tuesday, debunked such rumours, stating clearly that the meeting with the APC leadership was to build bridges, look beyond political divides and regional lines to save Nigeria from another civil war.
However, sources revealed that the former minister, apart from being broke, is also afraid of getting the ‘Olisa Metuh treatment’ meted out to him in his ongoing multi-billion naira corruption cases.
Recall that FFK, as he is fondly called by supporters, was arraigned in 2016, alongside a former Minister of State for Finance, Nenadi Usman; Danjuma Yusuf, and a firm, Joint Trust Dimensions Ltd over N4.9bn alleged fraud.
The former minister, who was also the Director of Publicity for ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential campaign organisation for the 2015 election, was accused of conspiring with the others to, directly and indirectly, retain various sums which the EFCC claimed they ought to have reasonably known were proceeds of crime.
Fani-Kayode was accused of directly using parts of the money at various times, including N250,650,000.00, which he allegedly used between March 20 and 25, 2015.
He was also accused of making a cash transaction of N24m with one Olubode Oke, said to still be at large, on February 12, 2015 “to Paste Poster Co of 125, Lewis Street, Lagos Island.”
Months later, the former minister was rearrested and solely arraigned on five counts bordering on money laundering to the tune of N26 million.
According to the EFCC, Fani-Kayode allegedly received the sum of N26 million from the office of the former National Security Adviser (ONSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.) in 2014.
“He is currently broke, when he was broke during the former President Olusegun Obasanjo era, he started attacking Obasanjo until he was offered a position which fuelled his drug filled lifestyle. As soon as he got a job with Obasanjo, he started attacking Prof. Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe. That was why Obasanjo said what politicians need to do for Fani-Kayode to hail them is to give him food,” a source told SaharaReporters.
“Years after, he started attacking former President Goodluck Jonathan. Jonathan’s wife was so scared of him that she begged her husband to employ him, that was why he was made the spokesman for the PDP’s presidential campaign committee.
“When APC came on board, he started attacking President Muhammadu Buhari because of the various corruption cases against him but the late chief of staff, Abba Kyari, was shielding him from trial. Now that Kyari is dead and his trial is progressing well, he is afraid that he might get Metuh’s treatment. He is expected to be in court on February 23 and 24, 2021. He doesn’t want to go to prison.
“In addition, he is very broke. I hope you are aware he just had a new baby. He doesn’t even have money for the unknown wife and baby’s upkeep. So, he started reaching out to APC stalwarts. He also told some of us that journalists conspired against his nationwide tour of states where he was initially making money.”
