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Nigeria: Graft Allegation - I'm Innocent - Grange
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Vanguard (Lagos)
OPINION
27 March 2008
Posted to the web 27 March 2008
Adekunle Aliyu
Lagos
PROFESSOR Adenike Grange who resigned on Tuesday as Minister of Health has said she is not in anyway guilty of the corruption allegations that led to her exit from the Federal Cabinet.
Prof. Grange resigned along with her Minister of State, Mr. Gabriel Aduku, over the non-remittance of about N300 million unspent vote of the ministry for 2007 to the Federal Government coffers in contravention of the directive of President Umaru Yar'Adua.
In her first public statement on her decision to throw in the towel, the former minister said: "I want to clearly state that while I am not the chief accounting officer of the ministry, the fact is that the recent episode involving 'contracts and welfare packages' happened under my leadership for which I accept responsibility but not the blame.
"However, my acceptance of responsibility should not be misconstrued as an admission of guilt but rather a path of honour for lapses and intrigues under my watch for which I unfortunately was not well versed in.
"As a professional and a technocrat, I must admit that the level of decay and corruption within the ministry and the whole Nigerian system as we all know glaringly need to be decisively tackled and purged.
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"I saw my invitation to serve in this cabinet as an opportunity for professionals to join in the extirpation and re-engineering of the whole system to move this great country forward expediently.
"Finally, I am leaving this cabinet because I consider my dignity, reputation and legacy, values that I have worked hard for and hold dearly. I am returning to my unblemished career which I have assiduously laboured for over the years with resounding success nationally and internationally and to the business of which I am familiar with... saving the lives of mothers and children across Nigeria and the world in general.
"I wish Mr. President God's guidance, strength, courage, will power and wisdom to put this country on the path of greatness again," she said.
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