Abdulaziz Yari, former Zamfara State governor, has denied reports of him assaulting an airport official at the weekend.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had yesterday accused him of assaulting its official when he made use of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport at the weekend.
Mr Yari was alleged to have pushed down the official when he insisted that the luggage of the former governor, said to have described himself as a Very Important Person (VIP), must be disinfected in line with the protocol for air travellers to checkmate the spread of Coronavirus disease.
The accusation by the FAAN led Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister, to slam the former governor, describing him as an animal worthy of being thrown into jail.
But in a statement by Mayowa Oluwabiyi, his media consultant, Yari said although he did use the air facility on the said date, such incident never occurred.
He also made demands to the FAAN to retract the allegation he described as offensive and apologise, while threatening to institute legal action against the former minister.
“The attention of H.E Abdulaziz Yari, the former Governor of Zamfara State has been drawn to a tweet posted on Wednesday, 15th July, 2020 on the official Twitter account of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) that alleges that the ex-governor assaulted an airport official on Saturday 11th July, 2020 at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano,” the statement read.
“We wish to state categorically that H.E Abdulaziz Yari did pass through the MAKIA on the said day, but did not assault any airport official. He also followed all the COVID-19 preventive protocols set by FAAN.
“The incident cited in the tweet simply never happened.
“H.E Abdulaziz Yari finds the tweet odious and distasteful, he therefore demands that FAAN retract the offensive tweet and tender an immediate public apology to him for the falsehood published about his person.
“We wish to re-affirm that H.E Abdulaziz Yari, the former governor of Zamfara state is a law-abiding Nigerian who will never resort to violence on any issue whatsoever.
“H.E Yari holds the Federal Government of Nigeria in very high esteem and supports all steps taken by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to fight the deadly pandemic.
“However, the vicious attack on the person and reputation of H.E Abdulaziz Yari cannot be winked at,” it added.
