Abuja — Over N35 million taxpayers' money was spent by state governors, ministers and lawmakers sponsoring advert messages congratulating President Umaru Musa Yar'adua on his 57th birthday in national dailies, only to discover that the president was not born on July 9, as the over 100 coloured paged messages implied.

The national dailies began the publication of the congratulatory messages on Wednesday 9 and continued up to the Tuesday 15 when a national daily reported the fake birthday story. The confusion, Weekly Trust investigations revealed, was escalated by the government image maker and Minister of Information and Communications, Mr. John Odey, who also placed a congratulatory message to the president on behalf of his family and the ministry he is supervising on Wednesday the 9th.

Among the governors who sponsored the publication of messages congratulating Yar'adua on his 'fake' birthday that fateful Wednesday ncluded that of Niger, Bayelsa, Imo, Sokoto, Rivers, Plateau, Kwara, Ekiti, Enugu, Katsina, Benue and Edo states. Like the Information and communications Minister, Odey, the Senate President, David Mark, whose fate was then hanging in the Court of Appeal, Jos, was among the top

government officials who also placed adverts rejoicing with the president. The Chief Executive Officer of the Ibeto Group, Mr. Cletus Ibeto who only got back his cement import licence after Yar'adua's ascension to power last year after it revoked by Obasanjo's administration, was among the first private organisations to congratulated the president on July 9.

Others were Arab Contractors, O.A.O Nigeria Limited and Alhaji Bashir Adamu of IMAD Group, CCECC, Setraco, United Cement, Chikason Group, News Engineering, Intels and First Inland Bank. The former Peoples Democratic Party's former Board of Trustees Chairman and Obasanjo's regime Mr. Fix It, Chief Tony Anenih and former Nasarawa State Governor and current Secretary of the PDP's BoT, Abdullahi Adamu were the prominent politicians who placed adverts.

Weekly Trust findings further revealed that, out of the over 100 coloured pages sponsored messages published in the national dailies marking Yar'adua's 'birthday', the SUN had the highest share of 19 pages followed by This Day 13 and Leadership 10. The Daily Trust got 9, Punch 7 ½, Daily Independent 7, Vanguard, The Nation, New Nigerian and The Guardian 6 pages each and Tribune, 5. Governors of Kaduna, Bauchi, Kebbi, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Adamawa, Borno, Oyo, Taraba, Akwa Ibom and Abia states among others published their congratulatory messages between Thursday 10 to Tuesday 15. Out of the 100 published messages, only 15 pages were placed by private individuals and corporate bodies.

The national dailies have as a result of the anniversary confusion realised N34,074,246.00 while their advertisement rates range from N270, 855.00 to N386, 820.00 per colour page. The brewing confusion was later halted when the Presidential spokesman Segun Adeniyi declared that the president's birthday was August 16, not July 9 as hitherto believed.