The governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, has refuted claims that his office wasted N400 million on domestic and international travel.
The governor said that the claims made by the All Progressives Congress (APC) were the impetus for the media coverage.
According to Lawal, the opposition party was only hunting for a loophole to denounce his administration before the people of the state.
Suleiman Bala Idris, the governor’s spokesman, released a statement.
The governor allegedly spent N170,276,294.31 on overseas travel and transport, N221,567,094 on domestic travel, and N6,929,500.00 on private protection in just three months, according to the online publication.
The statement claims that the misunderstanding sprang from a willful misreading of budget data and specifies that the preceding administration was responsible for Q1, Q2, and Q3.
“We have read an online report alleging that Governor Dauda Lawal spent over N400 million on foreign trips,” the statement stated. This is an untrue claim made in an effort to destroy the governor’s reputation.
The governance of Governor Dauda Lawal is based on the tenets of openness and responsibility. The official website of the Zamfara State Government is zamfara.gov.ng, and it has all the information you could possibly need.
A comprehensive report on the budget’s status, including a breakdown of the Governor’s spending on travels and other activities, has been posted to the official website. There is no opportunity for wasteful spending thanks to Governor Dauda Lawal’s implementation of a system of total transparency and accountability.
“Therefore, let it be known that the Governor has made only three official international trips since he took office on May 29, 2023,” the statement reads.
“The three international trips were to the United States for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Rwanda for a UNDP Retreat, and Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire to meet with African Development Bank President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina.”
And the Nigerian Governors Forum hosted the retreat in Kigali with full funding from the UN Development Programme (UNDP). So, no money was spent by the government on that. Spending on international travel was limited to the United Nations General Assembly in New York and a meeting between the governor of the Northwest and the president of the African Development Bank in Abidjan.
The report incorrectly linked spending from the prior administration to the current one. We have never experienced Ramadan, and our administration has never used private security.
Therefore, we don’t understand how the money for the Ramadan and Sallah presents ended up being assigned to us.
“As a government, we are dedicated to being open and honest in all that we do. Our pledge to bring about change for the better in Zamfara State is one we intend to keep.
The rescue effort launched by our administration is all-encompassing. We will not let false information slow us down or stop us.
