Former minister of Aviation in Nigeria, Femi Fani-kayode has weighed in on the dispute between Joy Nunieh, Former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio.
In a post in his official Facebook account, Fani-Kayode defended the integrity of Nunieh while urging both parties to engage in dialogue to settle their differences. His statement came after Nunieh and Akpabio had been engaged in counter accusations after the senate ad hoc committee setup an inquiry over alleged mismanagement of N40 billion by the interim management committee (IMC) of the NDDC.
He wrote:
I have known Joy Nunieh for many years. She is a very tough cookie and exceptionally intelligent. She is NOT crazy, wayward or flippant.
She is a beautiful, righteous and principled lady, who is a brilliant lawyer and who has always had the courage of her convictions. She is also a real fighter.
I appeal to both her and my old friend and brother Godswill Akpabio, who I have always liked & who I have immense respect for despite our political differences, to sheath their swords.
The only people that benefit from this public spat are those that hate & seek to mock the people of the Niger Delta & those that have nothing but contempt & disdain for the Nigerian people generally.
The matter has already hit the international airwaves & it is scandalous. When you marry it to the Hushpuppy mess & the Magu meltdown it puts our country & people in a very precarious situation in the international community.
Whatever the issues are between the Minister & the former NDDC MD, let them be ironed out behind closed doors quietly and let whoever may have done any wrong be sanctioned by the President and if necessary the security agencies.
That is how these things are done at such high levels. It must not degenerate into a no holds barred market place ‘bolekaja’ slugfest where anything goes. And whatever the case, peoples private lives, how many husbands they have had, the challenges they may have had in marriage and issues of sexual molestation in the office should not be part of this. To take it to that shameful level is simply sordid and well beneath both parties who I know very well.
There ought to be some limitations, decency and decorum in this. There must be certain lines and boundaries that must never be crossed. Both Godswill and Joy are just too good for this show of shame.
Again, I appeal to them both: SHEATH YOUR SWORDS before the matter gets to a point of no return, someone takes advantage of it and something frightful, untoward and regrettable happens.
May God grant you both the wisdom to accept my humble counsel and may He watch over, lead and guide you both.