I’ll continue to speak truth to power —Falana

HUMAN rights activist, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, yesterday, faulted the Presidency for accusing him of ‘misrepresentation of facts’, adding that he would continue to ask pertinent questions in the public interest.

Falana, in a statement titled: ‘Femi Falana, Covid-19 fund and the art of misrepresentation’, insisted that he will not be intimidated to  speak truth to power.

The statement reads: “At the memorial lecture held by the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, CDHR, in Lagos on Sunday, February 12, 2024, in honour of its foundation president, the late Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, I urged Nigerians to demand accountability in respect of the huge funds gained the removal of fuel subsidy. In the course of my presentation, I informed the audience that the sum of N135 billion was distributed to the 36 state governments last December to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In a rejoinder to my statement, Mr Temitope Ajayi, a Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, accused me of “misrepresentation of facts.’ 

“For reasons best known to Mr Ajayi, he did not disclose that out of the World Bank loan of $750 million obtained by Nigeria to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, $300 million has been disbursed by the Federal Government. I have suggested elsewhere that the remaining $400 million be channelled towards the rehabilitation of some hospitals in the country.

“It is interesting to note that Mr Ajayi is curiously silent on the $3.4 billion that was also procured by the Federal Government from the International Monetary Fund to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. As the bank relevant statements apparently disappeared in the Central Bank, the Auditor-General of the Federation requested the former governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele to account for the balance of $2.7 billion, N350 billon credited to Exchange Commission and recover the sum of N13.3 billion credited to Forex Equalisation Account diverted from the loan. 

“Since the worsening living conditions of the Nigerian people have been compounded by the payment and servicing of huge external and internal loans procured by the Federal Government and State Governments to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and address infrastructural decay, it is the duty of every citizen to demand accountability and transparency in the disbursement of the public funds."

 No amount of vulgar abuse will prevent me from asking pertinent questions in the public interest and speaking truth to power.”