Gov. Abdulaziz Yari has refuted the EFCC claim alleging that he has $3m hotel under construction in Lekki, Lagos.
The commission, Sahara Reporters said, alleged the Zamfara governor stole the monies from the Paris-London Club refunds.
“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,” Abulrazque Barkindo, head, public affairs, Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat, said in a statement.
“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.”
According Barkindo, “Yari has said emphatically that he does not even own a plot of land in Lagos not to talk of a hotel.
He added that the medium added Governor Yarim who is NGF chair, also diverted N500 million from the Paris Club refund to pay off a loan”, an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) source revealed to an online medium.
He also accused the EFCC of feeding the media with lies, adding that it was perhaps the reason the agency lost most of its corruption cases.
“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.
“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 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.
“The media should support the EFCC in ensuring that convicting people on the pages of newspapers shouldn’t be the focus of the EFCC in its war against corruption,” Barkindo said.