NGF to EFCC: Stop “Shadow-boxing” Gov. Yari

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has advised the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and its chairman Mr Ibrahim
Mustafa Magu to desist from unnecessary “shadow-boxing” and leave
Dr Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar Governor of Zamfara State and Chairman
of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, to face his job.

This was contained in a statement issued by Head, media &
public affairs, Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat, Abulrazque
Barkindo.

According to him, Yari had for the umpteenth time told the
commission that he neither owns a plot of land in Lagos nor owns or
intends to build a hotel in Lagos.

The statement reads “Yari had denied any links with a $3million
hotel in Lagos which some online media attributed to him and in
fact sued the publications responsible for that insidious report
for libel.

“But for want of scapegoats in its battle against the National
Assembly, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission continues to
drag the governor’s name in the mud in a veiled effort to divert
attention from the matters of the moment.

“The NGF therefore urges the public to note that this is not
about any missing funds anymore as the NGF would like to
categorically emphasize that it did not, at any material time,
receive any funds from the Paris London refunds on behalf of any
states.

“All states funds were remitted to them directly from the
federation accounts by the Ministry of Finance. What the NGF
received, it must be repeated here, was monies due to the
consortium of consultants who verified the amounts due to all the
states that were owed.

“Furthermore, the NGF would like to state that its involvement
with the Paris-London Club refunds had saved the states colossal
amounts of money individually and collectively because instead of
the high percentages agreed upon by the individual states to their
separate consultants, the NGF drew the percentages down to 2% which
was paid to the consortium.”

He said that before then states had agreed to pay consultants
between 10 and 30 % as commission for recovering the
over-deductions.

“It is however understandable that in the absence of a fall guy,
the EFCC has consistently maligned the person of the Zamfara State
governor and Chairman of the NGF, Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar, even
when the need to so do was untenable, ridiculous and absent.

“The NGF is asking the commanding heights of the EFCC to instead
look elsewhere for its real or imagined enemies and allow Yari
Abubakar to face enormous task of governing his state and leading
the governors of Nigeria,” it stated.

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has advised the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and its chairman Mr Ibrahim
Mustafa Magu to desist from unnecessary “shadow-boxing” and leave
Dr Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar Governor of Zamfara State and Chairman
of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, to face his job.

This was contained in a statement issued by Head, media &
public affairs, Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat, Abulrazque
Barkindo.

According to him, Yari had for the umpteenth time told the
commission that he neither owns a plot of land in Lagos nor owns or
intends to build a hotel in Lagos.

The statement reads “Yari had denied any links with a $3million
hotel in Lagos which some online media attributed to him and in
fact sued the publications responsible for that insidious report
for libel.

“But for want of scapegoats in its battle against the National
Assembly, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission continues to
drag the governor’s name in the mud in a veiled effort to divert
attention from the matters of the moment.

“The NGF therefore urges the public to note that this is not
about any missing funds anymore as the NGF would like to
categorically emphasize that it did not, at any material time,
receive any funds from the Paris London refunds on behalf of any
states.

“All states funds were remitted to them directly from the
federation accounts by the Ministry of Finance. What the NGF
received, it must be repeated here, was monies due to the
consortium of consultants who verified the amounts due to all the
states that were owed.

“Furthermore, the NGF would like to state that its involvement
with the Paris-London Club refunds had saved the states colossal
amounts of money individually and collectively because instead of
the high percentages agreed upon by the individual states to their
separate consultants, the NGF drew the percentages down to 2% which
was paid to the consortium.”

He said that before then states had agreed to pay consultants
between 10 and 30 % as commission for recovering the
over-deductions.

“It is however understandable that in the absence of a fall guy,
the EFCC has consistently maligned the person of the Zamfara State
governor and Chairman of the NGF, Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar, even
when the need to so do was untenable, ridiculous and absent.

“The NGF is asking the commanding heights of the EFCC to instead
look elsewhere for its real or imagined enemies and allow Yari
Abubakar to face enormous task of governing his state and leading
the governors of Nigeria,” it stated.