Ex-Kogi Governor Abubakar Audu Denies Embezzling N11 Billion

 

Abubakar Audu denies N11bn loot

Former Kogi state governor Prince Abubakar Audu has denied reports that he looted funds to the tune of N11 billion when he was the state’s governor.Audu, who is running in the upcoming state elections for a second stint as governor, revealed in an open interview with supporters on Twitter that the stories were just propaganda created by the People’s Democratic Party.“When I was in office between 1999-2003, we received an average monthly allocation of N350 million – about N16.8 billion for the entire four years of my tenure,” Audu said.“With these, we paid all salaries, we built Kogi State University, Obajana Cement Factory (now owned and run by Dangote Cement), Confluence Beach Hotel, Stella Obasanjo Library, Paparanda Square, Govt. house (Lugard) House, Government Office, secretariat, the banquet hall, started the confluence stadium and built the Lokoja township stadium, others are the Federal Medical Centre and equipped same with 25 state-of-art ambulances, NTA Kogi, Radio Kogi, Kogi Graphics Newspaper, 75 rural electrification projects, the presidential lodge, governor’s lodge, Abuja, inter-state roads; We also built the specialist eye centre, commissioner’s quarters, 200 housing units, just to mention a few.

“In 2002, the federal government instituted a panel to evaluate and reward performance. Out of 12 awards for the 36 state governors, 1 won seven awards. Now, how could all these have been achieved?”

“When all that failed, the then PDP-led Kogi State government took over and issued a white paper, banning me from politics for 10 years. I proceeded to court, and the court ruled that the Kogi government has no such right to ban me from politics.

“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has also taken me to seven courts in total (four in Kogi and three in Abuja). In each of these cases, they will always pull out before judgment is passed and go back to frame up new figures; I was 1st accused of stealing N1.5billion, then N4billion, then N8 billion and finally N11 billion. It’s also on record that I was the most pursued politician by the EFCC, as the PDP wanted my head at all cost – always during elections.

“So I ask all Kogites and Nigerians, how could my administration have achieved all we did with less than N6 billion, if N11 billion was missing? Again only the work I did in Kogi State stands there today. The PDP govt. since I left office, has received about N550 billion, without accounting for it.”