Festus Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) has explained his absence from the legal team assembled by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to defend the mandate of president-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in court.
On Tuesday, March 7, the legal directorate released the name of senior lawyers
who will defend Tinubu after the opposition parties sort to contest the declaration of the former Lagos State governor as president-elect.
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party are both claiming to have won the election and they have hired lawyers to prove their case in court.
The team according to Ahmad El-Marzuq, APC National Legal Adviser will be led by renowned lawyer, Lateef Fagbemi.
However, the name of Keyamo is not on any of the lists.
In an apparent response to inquiries on the absence of Keyamo in the legal team, the senior lawyer wrote, “For those who made inquiries, a serving Minister (by our Constitution) cannot be listed in any private legal team, though he/she can support the team in preparation. Hence, the present cabinet Ministers who are SANs can only formally join the Election Petition team after May 29th.”
Keyamo was actively involved in the campaign of Tinubu, serving as a spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council.
He is currently the minister of state for Labour and productivity.
His latest tweet has, however, been challenged by a tweep who shared a video where Keyamo confirmed that he was part of the APC legal team. The video which has been watched more than 10,000 times has generated another reaction on social media.
For those who made inquiries, a serving Minister (by our Constitution) cannot be listed in any private legal team, though he/she can support the team in preparation. Hence, the present cabinet Ministers who are SANs can only formally join the Election Petition team after May 29th
— Festus Keyamo, SAN (@fkeyamo) March 7, 2023
But this was you here claiming you are part of the team.
— Pearls (@MissPearls) March 7, 2023
Did you forget you are a serving minister?
Or was your brain on vacation?
Lying ???????????? pic.twitter.com/XSu2sSCXYS
