@kwaragovt Denies Allegation That It Paid @bukolasaraki Lawyer, Agabi, N500m

Kwara State government has denied media allegation that it paid N500 million to Kanu Agabi, lawyer to Senate President Bukola Saraki to defend his case at the Code of Conduct tribunal.

An online news platform, SaharaReporters, had tweeted via its twitter account on Tuesday that the state government paid Kanu Agabi the sum of N500million to defend him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

But the government in a statement via its facebook page denied making such payment.

“We hereby deny allegations by Sahara Reporters that the Kwara State Government paid N500m to Mr. Kanu Agabi, the lead counsel in the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) in Abuja.”

“The allegation is mischievous and has no basis in fact. Dr. Bukola Saraki is perfectly capable of funding his own defense. Also, the state government has no responsibility to fund the legal defense of the Senate President or any other individual. Neither does it intend to do so.”

“Additionally, it is ridiculous to expect a state government that requires N2.4b monthly for salaries, pensions, and overheads but received N1.5b in allocations last month, for example, to spend any money on the Senate President’s trial.”

“We must note that this monthly allocation is augmented with IGR and bank loans to meet basic obligations. It is therefore impossible for the government to fund the Senate President’s trial. We urge the public to ignore Sahara Reporter’s falsehood.”