Atiku's aide wants Keyamo sacked for 'abandoning' his ministerial work

Phrank Shaibu, the Special Assistant on Public Communication to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, said the Minister of Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, should be relieved of his duty in President Muhammadu Buhari's cabinet.

Shaibu's comment is coming as a reaction to Keyamo's earlier statement condemning the actions of the opposition who had called for the outright cancellation of the presidential election result.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who also doubles as the spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC), argued that the demand of the opposition is capable of truncating the nation's democratic journey.

The APC-PCC spokesman had said, “We wish to reiterate and emphasise that these positions are not in tandem with our constitutional provisions or our electoral laws. We would have taken these as mere wishful thinking, however, because of their implications for national security and public order, we have therefore considered it necessary, if not expedient, to caution them.

“We are aware of the intentions of those engaged in these treasonable and subversive acts. We also know those involved in the many plots being contrived to undermine the transition in particular and democracy in general. They are fixated on an Interim Government.”

But, Shaibu in his response said, rather than issuing "frivolous statements" over a certain imaginary plot by the opposition, Keyamo should focus on the ministerial work he was appointed to do.

He also called for the SAN's sacking over alleged dereliction of his primary duty.

Shaibu's words: “Festus Keyamo’s primary duty is to serve as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but this is a man that has put his personal interest ahead of the country. He took up a job as spokesman for Tinubu’s campaign while lecturers were on strike for eight months.

“Rather than negotiate with lecturers and get innocent students back to class, he asked the parents of students to go and negotiate with ASUU instead. After the strike, he remained the spokesman for Tinubu’s campaign and abandoned his duties completely.

“Today, the Nigeria Labour Congress is threatening to embark on a nationwide strike over the naira scarcity. By virtue of his job as labour minister, his primary duty is to avert industrial action.”