Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has debunked reports suggesting that he failed to retire funds allocated as running cost to his office as President of the Senate between June 2015 and May 2019.
Saraki, in a statement on Tuesday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said the report published on Tuesday in Daily Trust newspapers with the headline “8th Assembly: Saraki, Ekweremadu, others failed to retire N73.5bn running cost” was misleading.
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“We deem it necessary to put the record straight and correct the wrong impression created by the newspaper by stating that before leaving office on June 6, 2019, Dr. Saraki duly retired all funds allocated as running cost to his office as President of the Senate between June 2015 and May 2019,” the statement said.
Mr Olaniyonu added that Saraki was issued a certificate of retirement in acknowledgement of the fact that he (Saraki) fully complied with relevant laws, rules and regulations in respect of the use and retirement of such funds.
The statement added: “We believe that if the Daily Trust reporter had diligently investigated the issue and raised the right questions in the right quarters, he would have been availed the facts concerning the former Senate President.
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“It is, therefore, misleading and mischievous for the newspaper to allege that Sen. Saraki has failed to retire the running cost allocated to his office as President of the eight Senate.
“We will like to recall that the story under reference merely signifies the negative, misleading, unverified and inaccurate reporting by a section of the press against Dr. Saraki, with the intention of portraying him and the 8th Senate in a negative way to the public. Fortunately, the public is now better informed.”
