Kwara government on Tuesday in Ilorin alleged a plot by opposition political parties to launch a campaign of calumny against Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and some top government officials.
Special Adviser to the governor on Political Communication, Alhaji Bashir Adigun, accused some opposition politicians of desperate attempts to smear the image of the state governor.
He told a news conference that some opposition political parties were using falsehoods of various kinds, including doctored documents, unverified claims, fake videos and other disinformation to mislead the public.
“The plot by some opposition elements to smear the governor and some top government officials with falsehood is part of their desperation to return the state to backwardness.
“We are aware that some mischievous elements are trying to rehash the long-dismissed tale of N300 million local government funds purportedly missing.
“The interesting thing is that the only source to which they credited this phantom claim has since retracted the claim on a number of occasions,’’ Adigun said.
He added that as a government that cared about accountability, 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 funds.
“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.
“In spite of all these, some elements are bent on misleading the public in the name of politics,’’ Adigun observed.
He added that funds accruing to local governments were barely enough to pay salaries and other obligations.
“On many occasions, the state government had to come through for the local governments so that everyone will get 100 per cent salary.
“It is, therefore, absurd for anyone to rehash any tale about any missing funds.
“The characters behind the empty lies are also repeating the allegation of about N750 million contracts inflation even after the group that made the claim had since withdrawn it.
“And as if to advertise their ignorance, they are also alleging that the government spent N6 billion without the consent of the former Auditor-General.
“To be clear, at no time did the Auditor-General or anyone allege fraud against this administration.
“We, therefore, urge the media to fact-check each statement the opposition makes as we move into electioneering season because they do not mean well for our people,’’ Adigun said. (NAN)
