Kwara State Government has debunked the alleged mismanagement of the sum of about N7.05 billion fund by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s current administration.
The government, at a press conference addressed by the governor’s Special Adviser on Political Communications, Alhaji Bashir Adigun, on Tuesday, said that the government has been performing and spending public funds under the Civil Service financial regulations.
According to Adigun, the government has uncovered a plot by the opposition parties to smear the image of the governor and top government officials to discredit them in the eyes of the general public, adding that the move was geared towards the 2023 elections.
Adigun said, “We have invited you to this News Conference to draw your attention to a plot by some opposition elements in the state, including the Peoples Democratic Party and their allies, to smear the governor and some other top government officials with falsehood in their desperate bid to return the state to backwardness and wanton diversion of public funds and resources for their private use.
“They planned to begin heavy use of some media platforms, including online media, to attack the Government, using all sorts of salacious tales that only exist in their imagination.”
Adigun said that the opposition elements in the state are trying to resuscitate the missing N300million local government fund, the alleged N750 million contract inflation, and the N6billion fund allegedly spent by the government without the approval of the former State Auditor General.
The governor’s aide noted, “We are aware that some mischievous elements are trying to rehash the long dismissed tale of N300m LG funds purportedly missing.
“The interesting thing is that the only source to whom they credit this phantom claim has since retracted the claim on a number of occasions. As a government that cared about accountability, the government set up a probe panel which thoroughly investigated the matter.
“Various persons and government departments made presentations to the panel, and the finding was that there was nothing like anyone diverting any money from local government.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the panel headed by retired Justice Mathew Adewara said it found no evidence that any money was missing. Before then, on July 20, 2020, the former commissioner who was alleged to have made the claim said no such thing ever happened.
“Despite all these, some elements are bent on misleading the public in the name of politics.”
Speaking on the present administration’s achievements, the Special Adviser said the administration has taken steps to put the economy of the state in solid footing by embarking on various projects and Programmes that will create jobs and wealth for residents of the state.
Adigun said, ” “All these laudable achievements within three years are what give the opposition sleepless nights and their reason to be want to embark on falsehood and smear campaign.
“We, therefore, urge the media to fact-check each statement the opposition makes as we move into electioneering because they do not mean well for our people. Similarly, we appeal to the residents of the state to be wary of any statement or contents from these desperate elements and their different allies.”