Dauda Lawal, the governor of Zamfara State, has refuted claims that his administration paid N400 million on domestic and international travel.
The claims, which followed accusations from the All Progressives Congress, or APC, were characterised by the governor as having political motivations.
Lawal claimed that the opposition party only wanted to find a way to criticise his administration in front of the state’s citizens.
Suleiman Bala Idris, the governor’s spokesperson, made the remarks.
The statement further stated that, in the course of three months, the governor was falsely alleged to have spent N170,276,294.31 on foreign travel and transportation, N221,567,094 on local travel, and N6,929,500.00 on private security by an online newspaper.
The statement clarifies that the First, Second, and Third Quarters fall under the immediate previous administration and states that the disinformation resulted from a purposeful misreading of budget statistics.
“We have read an online report claiming that Governor Dauda Lawal spent over N400 million on foreign trips,” the statement stated. This is untrue and an effort to damage the governor’s reputation.
“The cornerstones of Governor Dauda Lawal’s administration are accountability and transparency. The Zamfara State Government’s main website, zamfara.gov.ng, has all pertinent information.
A thorough report on the budget performance that breaks down the governor’s spending on travel and other activities is available on the official website. We have put in place a system of total transparency and responsibility under Governor Dauda Lawal, which makes financial mismanagement impossible.
It is crucial to be clear that, since taking office on May 29, 2023, the Governor has only made three official trips abroad.
“The three overseas trips were to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in America; a retreat hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Rwanda; and a meeting with Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.”
Furthermore, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provided full sponsorship for the retreat in Kigali, which was coordinated by the Nigerian Governors Forum. Therefore, the government did not spend any money on that. The UNGA in the US and the Northwest Governors’ meeting with the AfDB President in Abidjan were the only international travels that required payment.
“The report incorrectly linked our government’s spending to the funds used by the previous administration. There has never been a Ramadan time or the use of private security services by our administration.
“Therefore, we find it puzzling that we were given credit for the money used to fund the Eid-el-Fitr (Sallah) gifts and the Ramadan fast.”
“As a government, we are dedicated to upholding openness in all aspects of our governance. We are committed to keeping our promise to the people of Zamfara State to effect positive change.
“The rescue effort of our administration is all-encompassing and addresses every facet of governance. Any false information won’t stop us or slow us down.
