Politics
Lawan denies N2bn bribe to confirm INEC chair
Ahmad Lawan
Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, yesterday denied allegation by Sahara reporters that he and some others collected N2billion from Professor Mahmood Yakubu to facilitate the confirmation of his appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari to a fresh five-year tenure as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Lawan, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Ola Awoniyi
challenged the media organisation and its sponsors to provide evidence in support of their allegation even as he urged Nigerians to “ignore the report as yet another incident of hallucination by the comical characters operating the fabricated news platform.”
The statement reads: “The attention of the Office of the Senate President has been drawn to a report by SaharaReporters alleging that a group led by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, collected N2billion from Professor Mahmood Yakubu to facilitate the confirmation of his appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari to a fresh five-year tenure as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“It is noteworthy that the publication, as always with its ridiculous fabricated reports, could not even expand the entertainment of its readers by providing the names of members of the fictitious group and where the group operates from. To be sure, that group exists only in the mischievious imagination of the writer of the fiction.
“We, therefore, wish to enjoin Nigerians to ignore the report as yet another incident of hallucination by the comical characters operating the fabricated news platform. The online medium has long earmed its notoriety as a purveyor of fake news with high profile public officials as its targets.
“It is well known that only the President can nominate a candidate for appointment or reappointment as Chairman of INEC. And only the Senate as a body can confirm or reject the appointment, after due screening of the candidate. The parliamentary process for the confirmation of nominations by the President is open and involves all distinguished senators.
“The Senate President is only a presiding officer of the Senate and does not lead any group in or outside the august chamber that acts in any way to circumvent the processes of the Senate. We reassure Nigerians that the Senate President did not receive any gratification, in his or behalf of others, to help Professor Yakubu get a second term as chairman of INEC.
“We challenge SaharaReporters and the sponsors of the false publication to provide whatever evidence that they can in support of their glib claims, failing which Nigerians should dismiss the report as another cheap blackmail from a platform that has no reputation for credible reportage and ethical journalism practise.”
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