The senator representing Kogi-West, Dino Melaye has
said that former governor of Kogi state, Prince Abubakar Audu, played no
part in an N11bn scandal that rocked the state.
Senator Melaye on Wednesday, November 25, affirmed that the
All Progressives Congress (APC), candidate in last Saturday’s
inconclusive election, did not loot public funds while in office.
Dino said: “How can a man who received N17bn in less than four years steal N11bn? This was a man who paid pensioners, did not owe workers and carried out a big infrastructural development in the state. What has the EFCC been investigating since 2003? It is all politics. Audu never stole Kogi’s money. This was a man who built Kogi State University, Kogi State Polytechnic, Obajana Cement Factory and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Dangote Cement. Audu built all the institutions that exist in the state today.”
He made his assertion while speaking during a late show on the African Independent Television.
The senator described the allegations as a witch-hunt, stating that it was a scheme by detractors to mar the late Audu’s image.
He further informed that most of the politicians in the state were too elitist but “Audu was the only politician who was down to earth in Kogi State. I was his closest political associate. He loved his people. He was a friend of the downtrodden. It will be difficult for any other governor to connect with the people like Audu did. A man who was ready to listen to bean cake sellers and cobblers was a man to be taken seriously’’.
According to Daily Post, in reaction to claims that Audu was poisoned, Melaye said he would not comment on an issue he knew nothing of.
He said: ‘‘I cannot say he was poisoned. I will not say what I do not know. God is the only one who sees everything. I can only weep. For him, it was the end of a cycle.’’
It would be recalled that late Audu was on March 18, 2013 arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), before an Abuja High Court on 36 count-charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of N10, 965,837,040.
Meanwhile, as the APC looks for a candidate to replace their late candidate in the current Kogi gubernatorial election, there are speculation that Audu’s campaign organisation is making plans for his son, Mohammed to replace him.
Senator Dino Melaye, said the late Abubakar Audu did not steal N11bn from the treasury of Kogi state.
Dino said: “How can a man who received N17bn in less than four years steal N11bn? This was a man who paid pensioners, did not owe workers and carried out a big infrastructural development in the state. What has the EFCC been investigating since 2003? It is all politics. Audu never stole Kogi’s money. This was a man who built Kogi State University, Kogi State Polytechnic, Obajana Cement Factory and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Dangote Cement. Audu built all the institutions that exist in the state today.”
He made his assertion while speaking during a late show on the African Independent Television.
The senator described the allegations as a witch-hunt, stating that it was a scheme by detractors to mar the late Audu’s image.
He further informed that most of the politicians in the state were too elitist but “Audu was the only politician who was down to earth in Kogi State. I was his closest political associate. He loved his people. He was a friend of the downtrodden. It will be difficult for any other governor to connect with the people like Audu did. A man who was ready to listen to bean cake sellers and cobblers was a man to be taken seriously’’.
According to Daily Post, in reaction to claims that Audu was poisoned, Melaye said he would not comment on an issue he knew nothing of.
He said: ‘‘I cannot say he was poisoned. I will not say what I do not know. God is the only one who sees everything. I can only weep. For him, it was the end of a cycle.’’
It would be recalled that late Audu was on March 18, 2013 arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), before an Abuja High Court on 36 count-charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of N10, 965,837,040.
Meanwhile, as the APC looks for a candidate to replace their late candidate in the current Kogi gubernatorial election, there are speculation that Audu’s campaign organisation is making plans for his son, Mohammed to replace him.
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