Femi Falana

Mr Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has prepared the minds of media professionals to the possibility of war against them as a precursor to President Mohammadu Buhari’s third term agenda. 

Falana said this at the presentation of Testimony To Courage, a book in honour of the Editor in Chief Premium Times, Dapo Olorunyomi, at NECA House, Ikeja on Thursday, 7 November. 

His words: “Let me say this, our country has gone to the dogs and the media must help, you have to help and that is why the war is against the media because for the 2023 race, the media must be silenced, we may have a third term campaign very soon.

“Very soon they are going to destroy all possible opponents and they have started. So by the time they bring the third term agenda, the media would have been gone, but we are not going to allow it.”

“I have said it publicly; no dictator can deceive the Nigerian people. No serious President apart from a banana republic would go to a private house in any country and sign a law. The bill has to be signed into law in the office of the President of a country. I am sure even this cantankerous man in America, when he wants to sign a bill, Trump, is a very serious business in the White House.

“There is a precedent. Ladoja was impeached in a hotel in Ibadan, New Rover Hotel and the Supreme Court made the point abundantly clear, any proceedings of a House of Assembly that took place in a hotel are illegal because the place for making laws is the Chambers of the House of Assembly. They tried to deceive us by saying that the bill was signed in the Nigeria House in the UK, no, it was signed in a private house, an undisclosed house in the United Kingdom where the photograph was taken. 

“That one has put Nigeria in trouble. You know under Yar Adua they said it, the 2010 budget was forged. We were told in Nigeria that they were taking the bill to Saudi Arabia and that time President Yar Adua was in a state of coma, so they forged the budget. The other one they forged has put Nigeria in trouble, the Petroleum and Industry Bill, because the President was nowhere to be found, that matter could not be taken to the Federal Executive Council. So, if they now say the President can rule from anywhere, you can be very sure many things are going to happen very soon.”

“The President sent names of members of the NDDC board, Ogaga Efowodo, his name was not there. The President sent the names, the Senate confirmed the names two days ago, but before the confirmation, the Chief of Staff wrote a letter to Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs on behalf of the President, to take over that Board. Akpabio has set up a panel. The Senate is saying, we have screened you, go and take over, expect a battle very soon

“The President sent names of members of the NDDC board, Ogaga Efowodo, his name was not there. The President sent the names, the Senate confirmed the names two days ago, but before the confirmation, the Chief of Staff wrote a letter to Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs on behalf of the President, to take over that Board. Akpabio has set up a panel. The Senate is saying, we have screened you, go and take over, expect a battle very soon there.”