Keyamo : Wudili is trying to dictate to me

Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, has accused the Chairman of House Committee Labour, Employment and Productivity, Ali Wudili of dictating  recruitment into public works behind the scene.

Keyamo who made this known in a letter written to the Joint Committee of National Assembly on Labour said that he may not get fair hearing with the inclusion of Hon. Wudili in that Committee.

Keyamo said, “To have the opportunity to fully express myself in advance as time and circumstances may not allow me to fully express myself before the Joint Committee.

” This is because, on Friday, July 3, 2020, in a programme called HARD COPY on Channels Television, the Chairman of the House Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity, Honourable Muhammad Ali Wudil have already publicly accused me of flouting certain unknown rules in arriving at the States’ Selection Committees.

“Consequently, I may not be able to get a fair hearing from him, especially as he is the one that has been at the forefront of insisting on controlling and dictating the execution of this programme behind the scene. he also made frantic efforts to stop the inauguration of the states’ selection committees through series of phone calls to me.”

Keyamo added, “it is also to avoid a situation where any attempt to fully express myself during the session or to call in aid provisions of the law and the constitution as the basis of some of my actions so far may be misinterpreted as an affront to the joint committee. 

” I would rather express those thoughts here and keep a dignified silence if some of those issues become points of contention again. this is because as a trained lawyer and a member of the inner bar (a senior advocate of nigeria), and having sworn to uphold the constitution as a public officer, i would be doing a great disservice to my primary constituency (the legal profession) and to my god-given conscience if i am made to concede issues that i know are constitutionally, legally and morally wrong just to let “things go on”.

” Finally, because the main purpose of your powers of investigation under section 88 of the 1999 constitution is to “expose corruption, inefficiency and waste”, it is important we lay bare our plans for the programme publicly. “exposure”, to my mind, will require a public inquiry, not a private one, if we must keep strictly to the provisions of the constitution. therefore, my writing in advance will absolve me of any accusation of impertinence as i most respectfully regret to say that i would be unable to say anything outside of these submissions in any closed door session.”