Dare Babalola
Femi Fani-Kayode, a former minister of aviation, has denied claims that he accused President Bola Tinubu of being responsible for the killing of Funso Williams, a former Lagos governorship aspirant.
In an X post on Thursday, Fani-Kayode said Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of SaharaReporters, had referenced remarks he allegedly made about Tinubu 11 years ago in a bid to justify himself in a defamation case he is currently facing.
Sowore alleged that Fani-Kayode once claimed Tinubu was responsible for Williams’ murder, which occurred at his Ikoyi residence in July 2006, but Fani-Kayode denied ever making such an accusation.
“He (Sowore) claimed that I said that President Tinubu killed Chief Funso Williams in 2003. This is false. I never said that President Tinubu killed Funso Williams,” Fani-Kayode said.
The comment in question, according to Fani-Kayode, was made in 2015 during the presidential election campaign, when he was a PDP member and served as director of media and publicity for the Goodluck Jonathan campaign.
Fani-Kayode said his exact words at the time were, “I am not Funso Williams; I cannot be killed like a chicken,” adding that the remark did not accuse Tinubu of murder.
He said he had since retracted the statement, acknowledging that it was inappropriate and capable of being misconstrued.
“I said those words 11 years ago and I have long since retracted them and accepted the fact that they were not only inappropriate but that they may have also been misconstrued,” he said.
Fani-Kayode described Sowore’s decision to revive the comment as a desperate move, arguing it was unfair to hold him to statements made during a heated political campaign that had since been retracted.
Fani-Kayode noted that political campaigns often involve sharp rhetoric, adding that both sides made damaging claims during the 2015 election cycle.
He said he left the PDP six years ago and joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2021, after which he became an active supporter of Tinubu.
Fani-Kayode said he played a key role in Tinubu’s successful 2023 presidential campaign as director of new media and special operations, leading a team of about 250 people who worked to promote the president’s candidacy.
He added that since Tinubu assumed office, he has remained unwavering in his support for the administration, insisting that this would not be the case if he harboured any lingering doubts about the president.
The former minister also rejected attempts to link Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Jonathan, to Sowore’s case, saying Omokri had retracted his past criticisms of Tinubu after the 2023 election and had since defended the president’s policies.
“For Sowore to try to rope me or Reno into his matter to justify his behaviour is absurd,” Fani-Kayode said.
He urged Sowore to retract his statements about Tinubu or be prepared to face the legal consequences, adding that dragging up past political attacks would not help his defence in court.
“I believe Sowore should cultivate that courage & accept that what he said about the President was also wrong & totally unacceptable,” Fani-Kayode said.
“If he refuses to do so he should be ready to prove his case in court or face the consequences of his words & actions.”
Fani-Kayode praised Tinubu’s leadership style, describing the president as magnanimous for accommodating former opponents within his political fold.
He said this, in his view, reflected Tinubu’s “decency and humanity”, adding that such qualities were the reason he and others continued to support the president despite past political differences.
