Impeached Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, on Thursday denied allegation that his administration bought 21 Sports Utility Vehicles worth N300m for the chairmen of the local councils in the state before he was removed from office on July 15.
The former governor dared the current administration of the acting governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, and the leadership of the state’s Association of Local Government of Nigeria to make public details of the amount paid and the date of the transaction.
His spokesman, Mr. Ahmad Sajoh, in a statement on behalf of the governor, called on the Fintiri-led administration and the ALGON to refrain from blackmailing Nyako and face the task of governance.
According to the former governor, the Fintiri-led administration bought the cars “last week of July, at an inflated cost of over N17m a piece with the first tranche paid at the end of July, and the second slated the for end of August.”
He said, “We challenge the supposed spokesperson for the chairmen (of local government areas in the state) to come up with documentary evidence of payment with dates and amounts paid to prove his allegations.
“We also challenge them to provide evidence that contradicts the earlier statement made to a national newspaper on the matter by an agent of the present government, which is at total variance with the statement made by the so-called spokesperson.
“We advise that they should stop their practice of governance by blackmail and face the task ahead in the interest of the people of the state.”
The former governor described the purchase as illegal, adding that the explanation offered by one of the chairmen of the local governments in defence of the transaction was laughable.
“The futile attempt by one of the local government chairmen in Adamawa State, the Chairman of Maiha Local Government, Ustaz Mohammed, to defend an ‘un-defendable’ illegal action is indeed laughable,” he said.
According to Nyako, the local government chairmen had first mooted the idea of buying the vehicles during his administration but was dropped when it was discovered that the cost was more than their legitimate entitlements.
The statement added, “The matter was discussed at the Joint Account Meeting, but the then honourable commissioner, Dr. Salihu Bakari, being from the academic insisted that he needed a legal interpretation of how the request will affect the entitlements of the chairmen as outlined by the National Salaries and Wages Commission, the Revenue Mobilisation and Allocation Commission and the functions of Local Government Legislative Councils.
“In the end, it was ascertained that the cost of the jeeps were higher than their legitimate entitlements and that expenditure of that nature are to be approved by their legislative councils under the operational guidelines. Consequently the matter was dropped.”
The former governor explained that the current administration cashed in on the current “confusion” in the state to buy the vehicles in order to secure the support of the local government chairmen in the state. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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U self go buy plane to bribe them now maybe they wl call you back
ReplyDeleteHahahaha! Dem don dey expose themselves but this is a man that was throwing banters to distant persons in government while his state was stinking due to corruption. So you were trying to remove a speck in another man's eye while you have a big plank covering your own eyes.Hail physician heal thy self. Shice na!
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