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Keyamo bought multiple houses in US couple of months after controversial “successful” N40b 774,000 jobs — Report

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A report has shown that the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign council spokesman and Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN, bought multiple houses in the United States of America just a couple of months after the controversial 774,000 jobs project that cost the Federal Government a whopping forty billion Naira.

News Band had recently reported that Keyamo purchased a property in Texas, the United States, worth over $359,000.

The report revealed that Keyamo acquired the property at 5509 Silver Canyon LN TX 77583 in Savannah Trace, with no traceable income to justify the purchase.

5509 Silver Canyon Ln, Rosharon, TX 77583 | MLS# 24010076
The house located at 5509 Silver Canyon LN TX 77583, Savannah Trace, Texas

In another publication, this medium also reported that Keyamo owns another house worth over a billion Naira.

A whistleblower claimed that the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) Spokesman owns the house worth over one billion Naira situated in Ikoyi, Lagos.

According to the whistleblower, who is also an investigative journalist, the “Secret house” is located at No. 8, Mekunwen Street, off Queens Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos.

He further claimed that Keyamo bought the land in 2019 for almost one billion naira and demolished it to build the structure.

He even challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ‘go and verify the claim’.

Festus Keyamo's house worth over a billion Naira in Ikoyi, Lagos
Festus Keyamo’s house worth over a billion Naira in Ikoyi, Lagos

Reacting to the allegation involving the first house, Keyamo said in a tweet that he posted a video of the house to deride “the horde of sore losers at the last elections”.

According to him, he closed his foreign accounts and repatriated the funds to the country, being savings he made as a private legal practitioner and a property investor over decades.

He also claimed that he wrote to relevant agencies and informed them of the movement of those funds out of the country to purchase a property as a better investment decision, all these done whilst he is in public office as a Minister.”

He said: “Two days ago, I decided to bait the horde of sore losers at the last elections with a video of my vacation in ONE OF MY PROPERTIES abroad as I did a light workout.

“By letters dated March 6, 2019 (long before I was appointed a Minister and immediately I was appointed a Board member of the NDIC), and in line with our Constitution, I wrote to the relevant government agencies, informing them of the closure of my foreign account(s) and the repatriation of my funds to the country, being some savings I had made as a private legal practitioner and a property investor over decades.

“The numbers of those accounts, both abroad and in Nigeria were clearly stated in those letters. Those foreign funds were lying in my accounts until my appointment as a Minister later in 2019 and formed part of my assets declaration.

“In 2021, I again wrote to the relevant agencies (by letters dated January 22, 2021), informing them of the movement of those funds out of the country to purchase a property as a better investment decision, instead of the funds lying idly in the account whilst I am in public office.”

He is yet to respond to the allegation of the one billion Naira Ikoyi house in Lagos.

Read also:

$300,000 U.S. house: You’re criminally indicted, Nigerians lambast Keyamo

Investigation, however, has shed more light on the transaction, indicating that Keyamo bought the houses after news of the controversial forty billion Naira 774,000 jobs project hit the internet.

The House of Representatives’ Committee on Youths, Labour, Finance and Appropriations, in November 2021, had carried out a probe into the non-implementation of the scheme.

Honourable Gudaji Kazaure called on relevant authorities to investigate the Extended Special Public Works Scheme over its alleged failure.

Responding, Keyamo claimed that the 774,000 jobs were successful and that beneficiaries have been paid 40 billion Naira.

In a statement, Keyamo also said about 90 per cent of the 774,000 participants engaged in the scheme across the nation have been paid.

In the statement signed by the minister’s Senior Adviser on Media and Communications, Tunde Moshood, entitled “Keyamo Replies Reps Committee On Public Works Scheme’s Probe’, he said:

“The Extended Special Public Works programme has been successfully implemented by the National Directorate of Employment under the supervision of the Honourable Minister of State, Labour and Employment.”

He added: “The Extended Special Public Works Programme under the supervision of the Honourable Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, SAN has been implemented successfully with about 90% of the 774,000 ESPW participants engaged by the scheme across the nation successfully paid with over N40 billion so far.”

Shortly after the “successful” Extended Special Public Works programme, Keyamo embarked on buying spree of properties in the United States and Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the founder of Due Process Advocates International and Harvard trained attorney, Emeka Ugwuonye, has alleged that the Minister of State for Labour and Employment duped a Pakistani drug lord identified as Mr Khan when he was remanded in Kuje prison.

In the revelation made by Ugwuonye in a report titled, “Festus Keyamo is a rogue: I have an idea how he made the money he now brags about”, Ugwuonye claimed that the proceeds of the fraud was part of the money Keyamo is spending on properties.

The human rights lawyer in the report was responding to Keyamo’s claim that his $300,000 US property was acquired with money he made from legal practice.

Read the report in full below:

How Festus Keyamo allegedly duped Pakistani drug lord $380,000 in Kuje prison — Report

 Read more.

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