Festus Keyamo, the spokesman for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, has responded to allegations that he lied about being a member of Senior lawyers defending President-elect Bola Tinubu’s mandate.<\/p>\n
Remember that Keyamo<\/a> revealed last week on TVC that Tinubu has assembled a team of SANs to defend his mandate.<\/p>\n However, the APC unveiled a thirteen-man list on Tuesday to face the opposition party’s candidate in court, and Keyamo’s name was missing.<\/p>\n It was previously reported that APC National Legal Adviser, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, released the 13-man list, which included 12 senior advocates, in a statement.<\/p>\n Wole Olanipekun, a legal legend who also serves as the ruling party’s lead counsel at the Presidential Election Tribunal, is at the top of the list.<\/p>\n Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, Sam Ologunorisa, Rotimi Oguneso, Olabisi Soyebo, Gboyega Oyewole, Muritala Abdulrasheed, Aliyu Omezia Saiki, Tajudeen Oladoja, Pius Akubo, Oluseye Opasanya, Suraju Saida, and Kazeem Adeniyi are also among those named.<\/p>\n The omission of the Minister of State for Labour and Employment from the list sparked outrage online.<\/p>\n Responding via Twitter, Keyamo stated that the constitution prohibits a serving minister from being a member of any private legal team, but that the individual can only assist the team in preparation.<\/p>\n He wrote:<\/strong><\/p>\n For those who made inquiries, a serving Minister (by our Constitution) cannot be listed in any private legal team, though he\/she can support the team in preparation. Hence, the present cabinet Ministers who are SANs can only formally join the Election Petition team after May 29th.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n For those who made inquiries, a serving Minister (by our Constitution) cannot be listed in any private legal team, though he\/she can support the team in preparation. Hence, the present cabinet Ministers who are SANs can only formally join the Election Petition team after May 29th<\/p>\n — Festus Keyamo, SAN, CON, FCIArb (UK) (@fkeyamo) March 7, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n