Kwara State Governor, Alhaji
Abdulfatah Ahmed has refuted police allegations of sponsoring, funding, arming
or otherwise supporting political thuggery.
In a statement issued by his
Senior Special Assistant on Media, Dr. Muyideen Akorede in response to a
Nigeria Police statement accusing him of sponsoring political thugs allegedly
linked to the Offa Armed Robbery incident, Ahmed described the allegations as
false.
Ahmed affirmed that while the
state has empowered several youth groups under its acclaimed Small and Medium
Enterprises (SME) scheme, the state government could not be held liable for how
beneficiaries utilize the credit.
He urged the police to complete
their investigations and charge the suspects to court soon in line with the
dictates of the rule of law.
Below is the full text of the
statement:
“Kwara State Governor, Alhaji
Abdulfatah Ahmed denies the allegations of supporting political thuggery or any
other acts of criminality as alleged by the Nigeria Police or the suspects
allegedly arrested in connection with the tragic Offa robbery. Neither has he
at any time funded or provided arms to any individual or group in the state or
anywhere in the country.
“To set the records straight, the
Kwara State Government has a well known empowerment scheme under the Small And
Medium Enterprises platform which is used to move women and youths groups into
entrepreneurship. Consequently, several youth and women groups have benefitted
from the scheme to date. However, at no point did the Kwara State government
directly provide funds to any group known as Good Boys for any purpose.
“Similarly, if any of the
beneficiaries chose to use the SME credit secured from the government to
purchase a vehicle which was then alleged to have been used for an act of
criminality, the Kwara State Governor and indeed the state government cannot be
held liable for such actions since neither had prior knowledge of such
intentions on beneficiaries’ part.
“The Kwara State Governor, Alhaji
Abdulfatah Ahmed also rejects the police allegation of arming and funding the
suspects for political thuggery or for any other activity as false and
unfounded as thuggery or any other form of criminality is neither encouraged
nor supported by the state government or its agents.
“While refuting the alleged indictment,
therefore, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed expresses the hope that the police will
soon complete its investigations and charge the suspects to court in line with
rule of law”.
More & more revelations & revelations. Need to scrutinise SME funds, & other pretentious schemes
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