DEFECTION TO APC: Moghalu accuses Falana of spreading fake news, demands apology

The Presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in the 2019 general elections, Kingsley Moghalu has demanded a public apology from Femi Falana (SAN), for spreading fake news about him.

Falana, a human rights lawyer, was said to have at the 2019 Felabration event in Lagos on Monday, October 14, alleged that Moghalu had defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

But Moghalu, in a statement he entitled, “Public attack and false statement against my person by Femi Falana SAN”, denied the allegation and asked Falana to apologise and publicly retract the “falsehood”.

Moghalu’s statement read in part, “Yesterday (Monday), October 14, 2019 I attended Felabration 2019: The Fela Debate, an annual event to celebrate the life and work of the late musical icon Fela Anikulapo Kuti that held in Lagos. At a point in the event, the compere announced my presence to the audience, noting that I was a presidential candidate in the 2019 elections, and highlighted my unique connection to the event.

“My candidacy had been formally endorsed by Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, who was also present at the 2019 Felabration; and my Yoruba name Ayodele has been given to me at my birth in Lagos by the late Mrs. Fumilayo Ransome Kuti, Fela’s mother. I left the event at the beginning of the question and answer session.

“To my great surprise and embarrassment later in the day, I saw and viewed a video news report by Plus TV Africa titled ‘Femi Falana (SAN) publicly attacks Moghalu Kingsley for joining APC’.

“In the 46 second video Mr. Falana told the audience (over the moderator’s effort to restrain him): ‘Is Dr. Moghalu still around? I think it is unfair to single out Dr. Moghalu for recognition. We should not celebrate opportunism. Here is a politician who contested on the platform of a party, who has moved conveniently to the APC. They’ve just given him an appointment and he has just discarded his own political party. I don’t think that is fair for all.’

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“These statements are false. I am not a member of the APC. I have not been given any appointment by the APC government. This effort to malign my character and reputation, by an individual I have always respected, was a complete shock to me. It is surprising that a man of Mr. Falana’s standing, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria no less, could make such weighty statements without verification. The media that reported this attack on me by Mr. Falana without checking the veracity of his statements acted in dereliction of their professional ethics and have actively spread fake news.

“I demand and expect an apology and a public retraction of this falsehood from Mr. Falana.”

Moghalu, who had recently announced his resignation as a member of YPP, insisted that he has not joined any other political party.

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