Federal Character Commission Denies Spending N56mn to Construct Fence in Katsina
One of the agencies under the federal government says its officials are targets of fake news merchants
The Federal Character Commission stated that a recent media report on its activities in Katsina state is false
The report had to do with facilities at the commission's proposed training school in the northwest state
PAY ATTENTION: Join Legit.ng Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!
FCT, Abuja - The Federal Character Commission has debunked an online report alleging that it awarded a contract at the sum of N56,080,593.00 in 2016 for the construction of a fence and gatehouse at its proposed training school in Katsina state around 2016.
In a statement sent to Legit.ng by its media unit on Thursday, June 24, the commission said the report only captured the content of an earlier audit observation which it had cleared.
Source: Facebook
PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read the best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app
Clearing the air to avoid misconceptions
Part of the statement read:
“In response to that Audit observation which was alleged in 2018 at the Public hearing of the House of Representatives, Public Account Committee, the Commission had explained that it fully complied with all the processes regarding the award of the contract.
“It was explained then, that, it was the practice of the commission to attach photocopies of the letter of award and contract agreement to payment vouchers while the original copies are kept in the contractors file to prevent loss of originals.
“This original file is in the commission and the reporters did not deem it necessary to find out this claim from the commission either by physical request or relying on the FOI Act.
“This incident happened in 2016 before the arrival of the new board. All records are available for any scrutiny as has always been done by the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation and others interested in knowing what happens in the commission.
“We, therefore, dismiss this report as half-truth and did not comply with the journalistic requirement of paper investigation before rushing to the press.”
The commission says it won't be distracted
Meanwhile, in a post on its official Facebook page, the commission reiterated its commitment to the principle of fairness, justice, and equity.
The commission noted that the principles are enduring ethos for sustainable national peace and unity in Nigeria.
In a related development, the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Mr Bashir Jamoh, has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to investigate an allegation of N1.5trillion fraud levelled against him by one Jackson Ude.
Ude, a Nigerian journalist based in the US, had on Saturday, May 22 tweeted that N1.5trillion was traced to Jamoh in a new generation bank.
However, on Tuesday, May 25, Jamoh sent a letter to the chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, urging the anti-graft agency to probe the allegations against him.
Similarly, a security analyst, Idoko Ainoko has debunked claims that former chief of army staff, Tukur Buratai (rtd) failed to pay soldiers of the Nigerian army their allowances for uniforms, boots, and skills since 2017.
Ainoko said the reports that army personnel were denied their entitlement under the uniforms and boots allowances and scarce skills allowance approved by President Muhammadu Buhari since 2017 is mischievous.
A statement signed by Ainoko and seen by Legit.ng said the news report had no sense in it and was aimed at being used as a tool to assassinate the character of the former army chief.
Source: Legit.ng
