Lai Mohammed Stole N100m Sent To Me – Gov AbdulRazaq Alleges
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State has opened another Pandora box as he accused the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed of having stolen N100 million donated to him during his governorship campaign.
AbdulaRazaq pointedly said that Mohammed has failed to account money donated to him by an Igbo businessman, stressing that the Minister intercepted and pocketed the N100 million in the course of the campaign.
Governor AbdulRazaq, who disclosed this in an interview with Thisday Newspaper said; “The Chief of Staff to the Kaduna State Governor called and said Lai gave us an account but it’s not going through, “can you give us another account so we can send you the money?” But I was going to campaign so I said fine.
“I came back two days later and remembered, and I said they should call him and give him an account number. When we called, he said Lai had sorted it out. That one and several. Until today, as we speak, he never told anybody that he collected money.
“There’s a businessman from the South-east. His banker came to me and said his Oga wants to speak with me. I spoke with him and he said he was sending money to me. I said, thank you very much. After the election, he called me to congratulate me.
“When he saw I was just saying ‘thank you’, then he asked if Lai didn’t deliver the money, I asked him what money? He said N100 million,” AbdulRazaq told ThisDay on Sunday.
The governor said the unnamed Igbo businessman later called to congratulate him and also mentioned the donation, but he was unable to confirm receipt. The governor said Mr Mohammed has failed to account for hundreds of millions donated which he intercepted and pocketed in the course of the campaign.
AbdulRazaq said his emergence as governor in Kwara during the 2019 election was in spite of Lai Mohammed, even though they are both of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
The governor specifically said that Lai Mohammed humiliated him and worked against his interest in the run-up to the exercise.
The Information Minister, Lai Mohammed did not comment on the allegations against him by Kwara State governor even though he had previously denied stealing campaign funds, saying instead that he used his own money to fund AbdulRazaq’s election.
AbdulRazaq’s allegations showed the crisis in Kwara APC was far from over. The party has been in turmoil since its revalidation exercise in which Mr Mohammed claimed malpractice by the governor’s camp.
Mohammed later issued a statement warning of the ruling party’s disintegration in Kwara as a result of Mr AbdulRazaq’s intransigence. The governor, however, said the minister was only crying foul, and in fact, has no political base in Kwara.
This is NIGERIA …