Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta, Kingsley Kuku, has described as specious, phony and wicked a report in ThisDay on Sunday, which claimed he recently had a lavish celebration of his wife’s birthday.
Kuku reacted through a press release by his Media Office made available to Qed.ng
Describing the report in a section of the paper as fallacious, the former Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme said it is easy to dismiss it as clearly a figment of the writer’s imagination and one who may have yielded himself to those bent on continuously spreading falsehood about him.
“It is curious that such wickedly concocted story could be published in a reputable medium without any effort to confirm its authenticity or otherwise.
“It is equally ridiculous that the author did not state where the purported birthday celebration took place. Was it in the United States, where I am still recuperating after my knee surgery, or in the United Kingdom or even in Nigeria? Who were the guests since the report claimed it was a lavish celebration?” Kuku queried.
The former presidential aide said he has instructed his lawyers to study the report and that he would consider taking the appropriate legal action to redeem his image and that of his family.
He said the report would have been ignored as a gossip that was given a semblance of truth but he had to respond as he, his family and political associates have been inundated with telephone calls and text messages over the publication.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had declared Kuku wanted over his non-appearance at its office to answer allegations that he diverted millions of naira in public funds from Amnesty programs for personal use during the Jonathan administration.
According to Wilson Uwujaren, the spokesperson of the EFCC, “He [Kuku] was billed to appear before the anti-graft agency on July 28 but he failed to show up.”
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting at Apo, has however restrained the EFCC and the Nigeria Police Force from arresting the Ondo-born politician.
Justice Valentine Ashi directed all the parties to appear before him on My 10 when the fundamental rights enforcement suit that Kuku filed before the court would be heard.
