The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas has disowned one of his aides, Hon. Godfrey Gaiya, for disparaging former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Gaiya had in an interview with a national daily accused Buhari of deceiving Nigerians into believing that he was all righteous, but behind his so-called righteousness was hellish corruption
Asked what he would tell the former President if they come face to face, Gaiya said: “I will bluntly tell him that he failed. I will tell him Buhari you have failed. He deceived Nigerians into believing that he is all righteous but behind his so-called righteousness was hellish corruption.
“We have seen and we will still see the number of people that became multi-billionaires under Buhari. If you don’t fight corruption or turn the other side when you see evil, allowing the evil to continue, when you are supposed to be in charge and call them to order, you have failed. So, Buhari failed Nigeria in many areas. We are the highest indebted nation in Africa under eight years of Buhari’s administration”.
However, the Speaker in a statement issued Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Krishi, the views expressed by Gaiya were his and not the Speaker.
Abbas maintained that he has tremendous respect for and enjoys the same from the former President and the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, saying he would not say or do anything that will negatively affect his good relationship with them.
He said: “It has come to the attention of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas (PhD), that one of his aides granted an interview to a national daily in which he made some unsuitable comments.
“For the record, the said aide, by the name Hon. Godfrey Gaiya, did not have the imprimatur of the Speaker to grant such an interview. Therefore, the comments made were those of Godfrey Gaiya and not Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas (PhD), has a Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, who serves as his spokesman. All official statements from the Speaker come from his spokesman.”