*Saharareporters stands by the story and the authenticity of the Assets Declaration Forms obtained from the Code of Conduct Bureau posted on our website. For the avoidance of doubt, we are posting the initial pages complete with Dr. Saraki's signature in the E-Library.
RE: GOVERNOR SARAKI’S FABULOUS WEALTH; THE NEWS MAGAZINE, JULY 2, 2007.
We have received the cover story of The News Magazine of July 2, 2007 with the title, ‘Governor Saraki’s Fabulous Wealth” with great concern. Our concern stems largely from the obvious mischief intended by the said publication, which is patently misleading and in bad faith.
The story is purportedly based on Governor Saraki’s Asset Declaration Form submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau in 2003, when he became Governor of Kwara State. But this is also the basis of the mischief.
We wish to note that the purported copy of Governor Saraki’s Asset Declaration Form, which The News magazine has now gleefully published as its “cover story” has been widely circulated on the internet and to most media houses in Nigeria shortly before the Governorship elections in April 2007 by desperate political opponents of the Governor.
Of course, media houses who received the document then, saw through the machination of these individuals and declined to publish. In desperation, they had to turn to clandestine internet publications, like the ‘Sahara Reporters.’
When the publication appeared on the internet, the Governor was genuinely alarmed for two reasons. One, that a document that was freely sworn to and delivered to the Code of Conduct Bureau as classified document under the law was said to be freely circulating on the internet. Two, and more seriously, that the said document has been badly distorted, with fictitious items grafted onto the original content to suit the agenda of the sponsors.
Immediately, the Governor caused a letter of complaint to be written to the Executive Secretary of the Code of Conduct Bureau in Abuja on April 4, 2007. In his response referenced CCB/HQ/PDP/C/2007 dated 23rd April, 2007, the Secretary to the Bureau, Mr. Sam Aba, states in paragraph 2 thus:
“I have looked into the matter properly and I am satisfied that the purported internet publication and information contained therein did not emanate from the Assets Declaration Forms in the custody of the Bureau.”
Satisfied with the Bureau’s explanation, the Governor had allowed the matter to rest. We are therefore concerned that this same discredited document, which media houses with tradition of honour, integrity and fairness have rejected, has now, not surprisingly though, found favour in The News Magazine. Obviously, operators of The News magazine do not have problems running with the hare and hunting with the wolves.
However, for avoidance of doubts, we hereby wish to state that the claim by The News magazine that its story of July 2, 2007, was based on Governor Saraki’s Asset Declaration to the Code of Conduct Bureau is false. What was published as Governor Saraki’s Declaration to the Code of Conduct Bureau is nothing but a sandwich of creative falsehood and criminal manipulation and distortion of facts to achieve malicious ends.
Secondly, we also take particular note of the wicked innuendos that run through the story. Reading through the story, the impression one tends to get is that anything that Governor Saraki ever owned in his life was acquired with depositors’ fund at the SGBN. The Governor’s lawyers will certainly take the appropriate action on this soon.
A couple of months ago, when Dr. Saraki’s London house was the hottest subject on the internet and in some newspaper houses, similar effort was made then to suggest that the house was bought with SGBN funds. We made all the necessary arguments to show that the attempt to force a link between the house and the bank was spurious and baseless. We said then that if the EFCC had any evidence of foul dealings by the Governor regarding the SGBN, how come neither the Governor nor any member of his family has been brought to account? But we understand why we have to keep returning to the same argument: The problem of SGBN has become lucrative business for some people.
In conclusion, it must be noted that this document, the Governor’s purported declaration with the Code of Conduct Bureau, has been in circulation for almost nine months. Its peddlers thought they could use it to discredit the Governor ahead of the elections. They failed. But it is not difficult to see why they have now exhumed the same illicit document and passed it on to be rehashed as “cover story.” Having failed to stop him at the State level, they are understandably worried by the Governor’s increased responsibility at the national level. But what else can they do other than to exhume the same old mantra for their smear campaign, hoping that it would stick this time.
Alhaji Mas’ud Adebimpe
Chief Press Secretary to Dr. Bukola Saraki
The Governor of Kwara State.
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