February 11, 2010
The disagreement between Dora Akunyili, the Minister for Information and Communications and Michael Aondoakaa, the former Attorney General of the Federation, is going to court next week.That is unless Mr. Aondoakaa issues a clear apology to Mrs Akunyili and publishes it in the media, including The Nation, the newspaper in which Mr. Aondoakaa issued his offensive statement earlier this week.
The disagreement between Dora Akunyili, the Minister for Information and Communications and Michael Aondoakaa, the former Attorney General of the Federation, is going to court next week.That is unless Mr. Aondoakaa issues a clear apology to Mrs Akunyili and publishes it in the media, including The Nation, the newspaper in which Mr. Aondoakaa issued his offensive statement earlier this week.
In a letter to Mr. Aondoakaa on behalf of Mrs. Akunyili, Kop Odidika of SOWER & MESSUARIUS SOLICITORS, said the former AGF’s letter to Mrs. Akunyili was unacceptable, as Aondoakaa had “most disingenuously tried to put a spin on an otherwise clear and unambiguous statement that has only one interpretation, to wit: that our client committed some untoward acts while at the helm of affairs in NAFDAC.”
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He described Mrs. Akunyili’s integrity as unimpeachable. “Her tenure at NAFDAC can accurately be described as the golden years of that establishment as no other head whether prior to, or subsequent to, her appointment has achieved so much as to even merit comparison with her.”
The new Minister for Special Duties, who fell from the dizzying heights of the office of the AGF only two days ago, now has seven days to meet Mrs. Akunyili’s terms or find himself looking for a lawyer.
Below is the full text of the letter from Mrs. Akunyili’s lawyers:
February 11, 2010
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Chief Micheal Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN
Minister for Special Duties
Federal Secretariat
Abuja.
Dear Chief Aondoakaa,
Libelous publication against Prof. Dora N. Akunyili
We are the solicitors to Prof Dora N. Akunyili on whose behalf and instruction we write to you in connection with the above subject matter.
It is our instruction that you issued a statement which was published on Monday the 8th of February 2010 in a widely circulating national newspaper, The Nation, wherein you said, inter alia “Bringing the memo to Federal Executive Council is just to make herself an angel. She wants to be seen as populist. Whatever she wants from it is still personal. None of the FEC members has disrespect to the Vice-President. As far as we are concerned, the VP is our leader and he is leading us. What she is trying to do is self-seeking: let her go and confront herself with what happened in NAFDAC”.
Our client has been inundated with telephone calls and personal enquiries from numerous people about your said statement concerning the implication that she did something wrong while she was the Director General of NAFDAC. She duly informed you of these enquiries and demanded by her letter to you dated February 8, 2010 that you confirm the authenticity of the authorship of the statement and if confirmed to supply full particulars of your allegations of her misdeeds in NAFDAC to which you alluded.
By your letter of February 9, 2010 addressed to our client, you admitted making the statement but most disingenuously tried to put a spin on an otherwise clear and unambiguous statement that has only one interpretation, to wit: that our client committed some untoward acts while at the helm of affairs in NAFDAC.
There is no doubt that as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, you are presumed to be conversant with not only legal matters but with English Language as well. Whilst one can concede your privilege to use any language, no matter how crude and unbecoming of a lawyer and public servant, in your private home and office, same should be tempered and civilized when describing and referring to another person.
More regrettable is the fact that your libellous publication was against our client whose integrity has been unimpeachable. Her tenure at NAFDAC can accurately be described as the golden years of that establishment as no other head whether prior to, or subsequent to, her appointment has achieved so much as to even merit comparison with her.
Our client therefore finds it totally unacceptable that her peers and generality of Nigerians have begun to question her integrity and now consider her a disreputable person because of the statement you made. Your said letter of February 9, 2010 therefore begs the issue.
We hereby demand that you issue a clear apology to our client and cause the said apology to be published prominently in the media including The Nation newspaper. Please TAKE NOTICE that unless this demand is met within 7 days from the date hereof we shall commence legal proceedings, against you to compel obedience and seek financial compensation for the injury done to our client’s reputation.
Please treat as very urgent.
Yours faithfully,
SOWER & MESSUARIUS SOLICITORS
LEAD Technologies Inc. V1.01
KOP ODIDIKA
Principal Partner
In a letter to Mr. Aondoakaa on behalf of Mrs. Akunyili, Kop Odidika of SOWER & MESSUARIUS SOLICITORS, said the former AGF’s letter to Mrs. Akunyili was unacceptable, as Aondoakaa had “most disingenuously tried to put a spin on an otherwise clear and unambiguous statement that has only one interpretation, to wit: that our client committed some untoward acts while at the helm of affairs in NAFDAC.”
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He described Mrs. Akunyili’s integrity as unimpeachable. “Her tenure at NAFDAC can accurately be described as the golden years of that establishment as no other head whether prior to, or subsequent to, her appointment has achieved so much as to even merit comparison with her.”
The new Minister for Special Duties, who fell from the dizzying heights of the office of the AGF only two days ago, now has seven days to meet Mrs. Akunyili’s terms or find himself looking for a lawyer.
Below is the full text of the letter from Mrs. Akunyili’s lawyers:
February 11, 2010
articleadsbanner
Chief Micheal Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN
Minister for Special Duties
Federal Secretariat
Abuja.
Dear Chief Aondoakaa,
Libelous publication against Prof. Dora N. Akunyili
We are the solicitors to Prof Dora N. Akunyili on whose behalf and instruction we write to you in connection with the above subject matter.
It is our instruction that you issued a statement which was published on Monday the 8th of February 2010 in a widely circulating national newspaper, The Nation, wherein you said, inter alia “Bringing the memo to Federal Executive Council is just to make herself an angel. She wants to be seen as populist. Whatever she wants from it is still personal. None of the FEC members has disrespect to the Vice-President. As far as we are concerned, the VP is our leader and he is leading us. What she is trying to do is self-seeking: let her go and confront herself with what happened in NAFDAC”.
Our client has been inundated with telephone calls and personal enquiries from numerous people about your said statement concerning the implication that she did something wrong while she was the Director General of NAFDAC. She duly informed you of these enquiries and demanded by her letter to you dated February 8, 2010 that you confirm the authenticity of the authorship of the statement and if confirmed to supply full particulars of your allegations of her misdeeds in NAFDAC to which you alluded.
By your letter of February 9, 2010 addressed to our client, you admitted making the statement but most disingenuously tried to put a spin on an otherwise clear and unambiguous statement that has only one interpretation, to wit: that our client committed some untoward acts while at the helm of affairs in NAFDAC.
There is no doubt that as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, you are presumed to be conversant with not only legal matters but with English Language as well. Whilst one can concede your privilege to use any language, no matter how crude and unbecoming of a lawyer and public servant, in your private home and office, same should be tempered and civilized when describing and referring to another person.
More regrettable is the fact that your libellous publication was against our client whose integrity has been unimpeachable. Her tenure at NAFDAC can accurately be described as the golden years of that establishment as no other head whether prior to, or subsequent to, her appointment has achieved so much as to even merit comparison with her.
Our client therefore finds it totally unacceptable that her peers and generality of Nigerians have begun to question her integrity and now consider her a disreputable person because of the statement you made. Your said letter of February 9, 2010 therefore begs the issue.
We hereby demand that you issue a clear apology to our client and cause the said apology to be published prominently in the media including The Nation newspaper. Please TAKE NOTICE that unless this demand is met within 7 days from the date hereof we shall commence legal proceedings, against you to compel obedience and seek financial compensation for the injury done to our client’s reputation.
Please treat as very urgent.
Yours faithfully,
SOWER & MESSUARIUS SOLICITORS
LEAD Technologies Inc. V1.01
KOP ODIDIKA
Principal Partner
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