I didn’t assault any airport official — Yari

A former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, has dismissed allegation that he assaulted an airport official at Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had, in a tweet on Wednesday, accused Yari of violating COVID-19 protocol at the Kano airport.

• FAAN flays ex-gov Yari for flouting COVID-19 protocol
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“He refused to adhere to the protocols and procedures put in place by the Federal Government through the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on #COVID19 by forcefully pushing away an officer of the Environment department when he insisted that his luggage must be disinfected,” the FAAN had tweeted.

But the former governor, in a statement by his media aide, Mayowa Oluwabiyi, said the incident cited in the tweet never happened.

Yari said he followed all the COVID-19 preventive protocols set by FAAN.

He described the FAAN tweet as “odious and distasteful” and demanded that it retracts the “offensive tweet and tender an immediate public apology to him for the falsehood published about his person.”

The statement said, “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.”

FAAN had condemned violation of the new protocols and guidelines at the airports by some Very Important Persons (VIPs) barely a week after the airports were reopened.

The Managing Director of FAAN, Capt. Hamisu Yadudu, said there were two incidents where VIPs broke the COVID-19 protocols and assaulted airport officials.

He said at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, there was an incident when a VIP said to be a former governor allegedly assaulted a FAAN Aviation security personnel.

Also, on Tuesday, there was another incident in Port Harcourt when a governor and his entourage allegedly broke the protocols at Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers State.