I Did Not Flee Nigeria Says Kuku

Kuku

The former Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku, has denied a report that he has fled the country to evade investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).


Kuku’s clarification came against the backdrop of a report that he fled the country on the eve of the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari to escape arrest by the EFCC which had invited him.

The Special Adviser in a statement signed by the Secretary of a group called ‘Kuku’s Associates,’ Biyi Poroye, stated that he was Abuja  more than two weeks after the inauguration of Buhari on May 29.

Poroye therefore described the  publication, which stated that the former Special Adviser ran away as  as spurious and a figment of the imaginations of the writers insisting that Kuku has no reason to flee the country.

“The entire story can best be described as the figment of the writer’s imagination. It was fraught with falsehood and embellishments calculated to misinform the public and probably smear the image of a man who did his best to stabilise the Niger Delta, at a time Nigeria was gradually grinding to a had due to restiveness in that region.

“The publication alleged that Kuku escaped from the country on the eve of the inauguration of President Buhari. Yet Kuku was honoured in his home town Arogbo, Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State on Sunday, June 14, 2015 at a Grand Civic Reception that had all the who-is-who in our society in attendance including Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, the Governor of Ondo State and Chairman, PDP Governors’ Forum.

“It is totally wrong and misleading to say Kuku had since May 29, 2015 absconded from Nigeria, when the same Kuku was actively involved and participated as a member of the Civic Reception Committee held in honour of Jonathan at Otuoke in Bayelsa State.

“He stayed more than two weeks in Abuja after May 29, and has been in Lagos, Arogbo and Akure. On July 22, 2015, he attended a meeting at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat, Akure before he travelled to the USA to keep a medical appointment,” he said.

Poroye said Kuku had in his reply to the EFCC invitation attached his medical papers where he stated the name of hospital and date of appointment.

“In these days of avalanche of opportunities to cross-check information, it is ridiculous that the publication chose not to confirm facts that were in public domain.

“We want to use this medium to state that  Kuku’s records in the Presidential Amnesty Office speak for themselves and always open to public scrutiny. He has no reason to run away from his father land.

“Whereas we believe in the rule of law and accountability of those who occupy public offices, we shall through all civil means resist selective witch hunting or campaign of calumny,” he said.

Poroye added that Kuku’s response to the EFCC invitation had been acknowledged by the anti-graft agency, describing the report as a hatchet-man’s job.”