The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has denied allegations that Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara is building a hotel from monies stolen from the Paris Club debt refunds to states.
Head, Media and Public Affairs at NGF Secretariat, Abulrazque Barkindo, said this in a statement in Abuja on Monday.
Yari, who is the chairman of NGF, is alleged to be building a $3million hotel in Lekki, Lagos.
Mr Barkindo said the allegations are damaging and libellous.
His words: “The reports contain harmful, damaging and libellous insinuations which remain largely unsubstantiated, despite the fact that it attributes the leaks to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials in Lagos.
“Governor Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar has said emphatically that he does not even own a plot of land in Lagos not to talk of a hotel.”
He said some Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials in Lagos claimed that “they have found a hotel being constructed by Governor Yari with three million dollars he stole from London-Paris Club loan refund to Nigerian states”.
He also quoted the report as saying that “apart from the $3million, Governor Yari also diverted N500 million from the Paris Club refund to pay off a loan.”
Barkindo described all the claims as wrong, harmful, libellous and misleading disclosures.
“Governor Yari is not building any hotel in Lagos nor were any monies stolen or embezzled from the Paris-London Club refunds to states or from any other source.”
Barkindo said that an online medium quoted the EFCC extensively as its source.
He said that the NGF was alarmed that the EFCC continued to feed the media untruth at the expense of its hard-earned reputation as anti-graft agency that Nigerians used to respect.
“This is perhaps why the EFCC has lost most of the high-profile corruption cases at the law courts after it had unfairly stage-managed media trials and caused their victims personal pain and public umbrage.
“This report, typical of most of the exclusive leaks that are becoming characteristic of the sources that court some sections of the media, lacks detail and compelling evidence to be fit to print,” he added.
Barkindo said that the sources were courageous enough to mention a hotel in Lekki area of Lagos but gave neither a street name nor any specific information on the property to give credibility to the allegations.
“This, he said “does no service to any investigation nor does it help the development of our country Nigeria.
“The media, we all know, is entitled to perform its duties as watchdog of society, which is enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“It is not, however, entitled to make unfair attacks, based on unfounded, false and unsubstantiated allegations against responsible public office holders.”
