Leadership (Abuja)
Iyobosa Uwugiaren
7 July 2008
Abuja — The former Managing Director of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf, has denied ever accusing former governor of Rivers State, Sir Peter Odili of any questionable deal in the aviation sector.
Many newspapers quoted Yusuf as telling the Senate Committee on Aviation recently that Odili had diverted N2 billion fund for his presidential campaign in the 2007 general elections.
But in a press statement signed by the former FAAN boss, he denied the statement credited to him. "It is not true that N2 billion was taken and allegedly diverted from the N19.5 billion intervention fund. Neither did I say that Dr. Peter Odili donated money to the Ministry of Aviation/FAAN for political reasons. Facts are sacred and they should be stated correctly," Yusuf stated.
"For the avoidance of any doubt, when I was asked whether the N2 billion for the rehabiliation of the Port Harcourt Airport was a loan or a grant by the Rivers State Government, what I stated was that the issue as to whether it was a loan or grant was discussed between Dr. Peter Odili and the then Minister of Education, Prof. Babalola Borishade, and perhaps, the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo I was not part of the discussion."
"That was not my submission that Dr. Odili used the N2 billion for furthering his presidential ambition. I simply stated that the release of the N2 billion by the Rivers State government for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Airport concided with the commencement of the presidential race."
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Leadership. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
