N300 LG Diversion Funds/Contract Inflation: Kwara Alleges Plot by Oppositions Parties to Smear AbdulRazaq

Piqued by the ranging issue of alleged N300 million diversion of local government area funds and contract inflation in Kwara State, the state government yesterday said there was grand move by oppositions politicians to embark on campaign of calumny against the state government and top government officials on the issues. The state government, however, appealed to the residents of the state to be wary of any statement or contents from “these desperate elements and their different allies and disregard the malicious campaign in its entirety.” The former commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hajia Aisha Pategi, has accused the state government of allegedly diverting the sum of N300million every month from the federal allocations of the 16 local government areas of the state. The development, however, caused a stir in the government circles which prompted the state government to set up a commission of inquiry headed by retired Justice Mathew Adewara. The panel in its report was said to have found no evidence that any money was missing whatsoever. However, speaking at a news conference in Ilorin yesterday, the Special Adviser to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq on Political Communication, Alhaji Bashr Adigun, accused some opposition politicians of desperate attempts to smear the image of the governor using falsehoods of various kinds, including doctored documents, unverified claims, fake videos and other disinformation to mislead the public. According to him, “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 (PDP) and their allies, to smear the state 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." He added: “They plan to begin heavy use of some media platforms, including online media, to attack the state government using all sorts of salacious tales that only exist in their imagination. “We are aware that some mischievous elements are trying to rehash the long dismissed tale of N300million 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 cares 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 the 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 whatsoever. "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." Adigun noted further that: “It is important to state that funds accruing to LGAs are barely enough to pay salaries and other obligations. "On many occasions, the state government has had to come through for the local government so that every worker would get 100 percent salary. It is therefore absurd for anyone to rehash any tale of any missing funds. “The characters behind the empty lies are also repeating the allegation about N750million contract inflation, even when the group that made the claim had since withdrawn the allegation. "And as if to advertise their ignorance, they are also alleging that the government spent N6billion without the consent of the former Auditor-General. "It is important to clarify that at no time did the former Auditor-General make such a claim. The queries the former Auditor-General raised with regards to some expenditures by a few MDAs have since been resolved and the former Auditor-General has clarified same. "It is to the credit of this administration that it gives free hands for officials to do their job. It is also necessary to inform the mischievous elements that audit query, as a standard practice, is not an indictment in itself. "It is a call to action that certain steps must be taken in line with the global best practices, which this administration follows. To be clear, at no time did the Auditor-General or anyone alleges fraud against the administration. “The Auditor-General has cleared the government of any wrongdoing. It is important to clarify however that there is no law that says the government needs the permission of the Auditor-General to spend money already appropriated by the House of Assembly. What the law requires is that such expenditure must be retired and that was clearly done as confirmed by the former Auditor-General.” Adigun also stated further that: “We have also uncovered plots by the opposition elements to dot the social media and other platforms with doctored financial statements, audiovisuals, innuendoes, and all kind of false and malicious contents to discredit the governor and other government officials.