Minister of State, Labour and Employment and Director, Public Affairs and Spokespersons, Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo (SAN) on Friday said an interview being circulated online which was attributed to him may have been forged.
In the interview, Keyamo was alleged to have said Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, then governor of Lagos state had sacked workers unjustly and also destroyed tertiary education in Lagos state.
” I cannot imagine a situation where the military government gave more succour in Lagos State to workers than even Tinubu’s administration. Tinubu’s regime has been the worst for the workers in the last two decades”.
However, speaking with DAILY INDEPENDENT, Keyamo challenged those circulating the interview to provide the name and date of the publication as he had granted hundreds of interviews in times past and couldn’t remember saying some of things ascribed to him in the publication.
While admitting the fact that he criticised governments in times past on their policies and struggle for good governance, Keyamo said he later discovered that as governor, Tinubu sacked some civil servants in the employment of the Lagos state government who were ghost workers and collecting multiple pay.
“I granted hundreds of interviews over the course of my struggles for good governance and democratic ethos. These types of interviews were typical of me. I don’t shy away from admitting my criticism of past governments”.
“However, at the fullness of time you may better appreciate some policies of past govts. For instance, it was later discovered that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was actually on a crusade against ghost workers and those who were collecting multiple pay, hence many were weeded out”.
“However, I cannot remember hundreds of such interviews. These were done more than two decades ago”.
“Hence it would be helpful to have the name of this publication and the date. I cannot readily confirm or deny such. It may genuine or it may be fake. There were many inaccurate accounts and interviews attributed to us in those days by people who had some axe to grind with public officials” Keyamo said.