Former Defence Minister, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso on Tuesday refuted report that he is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over N35bn arms contract.
The former Kano state, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, debunked the allegation in a statement issued by his Principal Private Secretary Muhammad Inuwa Ali and made available to reporters on Tuesday.
It could be recalled that Media reports indicated on Monday that former Chief of Staff to former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, and two former defence ministers, Alhaji Musa Kwankwaso and Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, are being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over their alleged involvement in the N35 billion contracts for procurement of arms.
Also, it was reported that former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Dr Haruna Sanusi, and Major General Nguni were also alleged to be involved in the defence contract and are being investigated by the agency.
The statement read, “The allegation that Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso and his aides Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (the current Governor of Kano State, who was a special assistant of Sen. Kwankwaso at the Ministry of Defense) and Abba Yusuf (who was the personal assistant to Sen Kwankwaso at the same ministry) are being investigated for fraudulent contract awards in the Federal Ministry of Defense is both mischievous and untrue. One of the media outlets even alleged that Abba Yusuf and Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje have collected 30 million and 50 million naira respectively. This is also untrue.’’
The former Senator, who represented Kano Central at the National Assembly said to put the record straight and draw the attention of the general public that during the said period which the alleged fraudulent contracts took place, in 2007, he was not the Minister of Defense.
“Kwankwaso resigned from that position in November 2006 to free himself to contest for the governorship ticket of the PDP in Kano State. In fact, the only position he was holding at that time was representing the Northwest region on the Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC),’’ the statement said.
‘’A position he voluntarily resigned from in 2010 because of his disagreement with the obvious corrupt practices in the way the commission was being administered.
During the same period, Dr Ganduje was in Ndjamena as Executive Secretary, Lake Chad Basin Commission. Therefore, there was no way either Sen. Kwankwaso or any of his aides at that material time could have been involved in the alleged defense contract scam.’’
The statement, therefore, draws the attention of all respected media organizations particularly the print media to desist from publishing such unsubstantiated stories which will not only tarnish the image of reputable individuals but also the media outlets themselves.