The Kwara State government has reacted to allegations that it paid the sum of N500 million to counsel to the former state governor, Bukola Saraki, Kanu Agabi.
Saraki, who is now the Senate President, is standing trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, in Abuja for allegedly not declaring all his assets while he was the governor of the state.
Kwara government’s rebuttal follows a report by SaharaReporters that the state government paid Agabi N500 million.
“We hereby deny allegations by Sahara Reporters that the Kwara State Government paid N500m to Kanu Agabi, the lead counsel in the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) in Abuja,” a statement posted on Kwara State government’s Facebook page maintained.
“The allegation,” the statement said, “is mischievous and has no basis.”
“In fact, Dr. Bukola Saraki is perfectly capable of funding his own defence. Also, the state government has no responsibility to fund the legal defence of the Senate President or any other individual, neither does it intend to do so,” it added.
“Additionally, it is ridiculous to expect a state government that requires N2.4b monthly for salaries, pensions, and overheads but received N1.5b in allocations last month, for example, to spend any money on the Senate President’s trial.
“We must note that this monthly allocation is augmented with IGR and bank loans to meet basic obligations. It is therefore impossible for the government to fund the Senate President’s trial.
“We urge the public to ignore Sahara Reporter’s falsehood,” the statement concluded.
