Saraki, Kwara gov trade words over alleged embezzlement of UBEC funds

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Former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has described a reported claim by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State that he embezzled the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) fund and also used his position as Senate President to prevent the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from investigating the case as an outright lie which the governor should retract.

It is reported that Governor Abdulrazaq on Saturday made the allegations at the launch of the 60-member campaign council and 1,200 canvassers for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Kwara Central senatorial candidate, Mallam Saliu Mustapha.

Saraki, in a statement on Monday, gave the governor seven days to retract the statement or prove his claims in court.

“I have ignored all his lies all this while as I believe he was resorting to that cheap escape measure to mask his failure in governance. Now, I will have to take strong measures by challenging him in court since he will not desist from fabricating lies against me.

“I have told my lawyers to write him to retract the statement or be ready to prove it in court,” Saraki said.

It is recalled that Governor Abdulrazaq had told the audience at the launch that he found some claims made by some opposition candidates in the 2023 general elections laughable and unbelievable.

“But for their boss being the Senate President at the time, most of these characters would have been in jail for the UBEC money they stole,” the governor said.

According to him, for seven years, the state was blacklisted by UBEC, over alleged fraudulent diversion of its funds meant for Kwara schools by the previous administration under PDP.

The governor, who claimed to have asked UBEC officials why the matter wasn’t reported to relevant security agencies, said that he was told that the fear of the PDP leader at the time the Senate President made the commission back out of taking such action.

“UBEC officials said that if they had taken the matter to EFCC, the commission might begin to have problems getting their budget approved at the Senate,” Abdulrazaq said.

Speaking earlier, Mallam Mustapha told his followers that his campaign and mission go beyond ‘big ideas’.

“If a candidate is coming at this point in time to say he has some big ideas, then it shows he is unserious.

“We have left the ideational level a long time ago and we have moved on to delivering on our ideas.

“Ask them what they have done as individuals without government money.

“Go to every local government in Kwara State and you will find imprints of Saliu Mustapha Foundation.

“I did all that with my own money. Our task as a team is to canvass votes, mobilise voters, and generally prosecute and win the 2023 general elections for the APC across board.

“Our task is not merely to deliver Saliu Mustapha as a Senator. Rather, we have the mandate to ensure that all the party’s candidates, including our Presidential flagbearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, win by a landslide in Kwara,” he said.

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