Ex-Minister denies calling for Tinubu’s arrest
Aformer Foreign Affairs Minister, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, has said he was not responsible for a letter sent to President Muhammadu Buhari in which the writer called for the arrest of President-elect Bola Tinubu.
He said the seditious letter was embarrassing to him and his associates.
The retired university don said he received numerous calls from home and abroad about the fake news, which has exposed the negative impact of unregulated social media.
The elder statesman said the seditious and spurious letter, which has been circulating in the social media, should not be attributed to him.
Akinyemi said it was possible that since his illustrious father, Canon Akinyemi, did not patent his name when he was christened, anybody could pose as the bearer of the name.
He said: “My attention has been drawn to the seditious and spurious letter to the President, General Muhammadu Buhari, calling for the arrest of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. My name has been attached to this letter.
“I am stating most emphatically that I did not write or authorise this letter.
“I sign my letter with Professor A. Bolaji Akinyemi, and not in any other format.
“I have sought legal advice on this matter and have been advised that since my parents did not patent my name when I was named, anyone can call himself Bolaji Akinyemi.”
Ijesa-born Akinyemi, a professor of International Relations, is a former Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Lagos; an Afenifere intellectual, a member of Uwais Panel on Electoral Reforms, and former Deputy Chairman of National Conference Committee.
