The Nigeria Governors’ Forum has countered claims that crisis is rocking its secretariat over alleged financial misconduct.
This is just as it confirmed that the allegations of fraud raised by its Director of Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazaque Barkindo, “are already being investigated by the police.”
The NGF, in a statement by its Director Legal, Chijioke Chuku, on Monday described a letter attributed to Barkindo, as inflammatory and misguided allegations.
Barkindo, in a leaked letter addressed to the Forum’s Chairman and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq, alleged that NGF is running an agenda contrary to that of improving the lives and livelihoods of the populace at the subnational level.
The letter read in part, “Indeed, the NGF is now more transactional than developmental. It is not an agent of change but a conduit pipe for a few individuals, he added.
“Millions of naira are stolen daily through spurious over-invoicing. The secretariat accounts have not been audited in the last decade, to say the least, that even the phony auditors invited to mock the auditing process have at various times confessed that the job they are doing for the secretariat is a wash. Has anyone ever wondered why an institution that midwife’s huge monetary deals like the Paris-London refunds does not have a qualified accountant?
“In an organisation that makes over N3bn three annually, the total annual income of its entire staff is N70m. The staff of the Forum are always asking where all the money goes. There is a staff that earns N20,000 a month, $20.
“There are instances. The N630m deductions from the N5bn infrastructure support fund which ended in a shouting bout among governors while you are chairman was a deliberate ploy to make you look bad among your colleagues. The secretariat did not brief you adequately. Their instructions from their master’s house, across the street, was to set booby-traps and obstacles in your path.”
Reacting, the NGF Legal Director said the supposed “breaking news” has been referred to the Forum’s lawyers for their advice and necessary action on the defamatory nature and contents of the publications.
It added “We believe that we owe the general public a responsibility to put the record straight in order to take the wind out of the sail of media sensationalism occasioned by the resignation of the erstwhile Director of Media and Public Affairs, Mr Abdulrazaque Bello Barkindo, who resigned his appointment with the Forum on the 7th of December, 2023 and whose resignation has been duly accepted by the Forum.
“We assure the public, all our development partners and friends that there is no crisis whatsoever rocking the NGF or its secretariat.”
The statement added, “The reckless allegations made in the publication and credited to Mr Barkindo are already being investigated by the police and also a subject matter of a suit pending before a court of law, hence as a law-abiding organisation, we shall co-operate fully with the police in their investigation and ensure the prosecution of any individual that is behind this unwarranted attack.
“We want to assure our concerned friends and development partners who have been waiting anxiously for our comments, that there is no substance whatsoever in the allegations contained in the publication and that our refrain from joining issues is a result of the need not to do or engage in any activity that may interfere with or prejudice the on-going investigation and court action instituted by Mr Barkindo.”
Punch
