The Presidency has condemned the allegation that President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, collected a N29 million bribe for the awarding of a contract.
A statement on Saturday by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, stated that Kyari did not have any private meetings with the person making those allegations.
He said with crucial elections ahead, some politicians and their media agents appear to be working together to pile pressure on the Buhari administration by wielding non-existent scandals against it.
Shehu wrote: “We equally note that the supply of 15 Hilux vehicles for the Presidency was an unlikely contract to have been awarded, as it did not exist anywhere in the 2016 and 2017 budgets.
“Checking the appropriation for 2016 and 2017, that request is not even there. How could Abba Kyari have asked for money to award a contract that did not exist anywhere at all?
“In addition to that, the amount allegedly given in bribe was also suspicious, as the office of the presidential aide had been known in the past to receive imprest of 200 million naira and above every month, with no one expected to give account.
“It was only since Abba Kyari occupied that position that things changed.
“In blunt terms, it is difficult to make a case of N29 million bribery against an official who spurned a monthly payment of N200 million to his office, money for which he didn’t need to account to anyone.
“Once again, we wish to caution against the media’s haste to publish unverified accusations against government officials simply for the sensationalism value, without journalists doing the due diligence required of them by their profession.”
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