By Tayo Joseph, Lagos
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has denied a statement being circulated on the social media in which he was quoted as justifying the current fuel scarcity.
The Minister was said to have made the comment in an interview with WE FM 106.3.. He was quoted as saying :
“Don’t mind Fayose, he is a noisemaker,
“I told the President yesterday that even if it means raising the Pump Price to N250 per litre, Nigerians will still buy, provided it is available.”
The purported statement has generated a lot of comments online by unsuspecting members of the public.
The Minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Mr Olayinka Oyebode, said in a statement in Abuja on Friday that Dr Fayemi never granted any interview to WE FM 106.3 or any other media outlet on the fuel situation.
He said the purported comment was deliberately crafted and circulated by some unscrupulous elements working in the media office of Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose.
Oyebode in the statement said: “ It has become necessary to debunk this wicked falsehood being spread by mischief makers via the social media, especially for the sake of well meaning members of the public, who have expressed concern over the source of the falsehood.
“The honourable Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, never granted any interview with WE FM 106.3 and the management of the radio station can attest to this fact.
“Members of the public should note that the fabricated comment, emanated from no other source than the media unit of Ekiti State Governor’s Office, which is now a den for fraudsters and where falsehood and blackmail have been elevated to statecraft.
“Anyone who knows the pedigree of the Minister would attest to the fact that he is not capable of making such a careless statement.
“Dr Fayemi remains focused on his current assignment and no amount of “manufactured” lies can distract him.
“We implore members of the public to be wary of this dangerous trend of character assassination being masterminded by Governor Fayose’s media aides, who in a similar style, had also credited another false statement on the fuel crisis to Mr Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) through a fraudulent twitter handle.
“We only hope the perpetrators of this criminal act fully understand the nature of this crime that has become a past time for them and their pay master.”
