Former Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, has denied looting the state treasury during his eight-year tenure and threatened to challenge the allegation in court.
Mr. Aliyu made the denial in a statement he signed on Monday while reacting to the recent release of list of alleged treasury looters by the Federal Government.
“I wonder why the federal government should include my name in the 24 treasury looters list released again by the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,’’ he said.
He threatened to challenge his inclusion on the list to a logical conclusion after consultations with his lawyers.
The former governor said nobody had confronted him with any document that he received N1.6 billion from the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, and urged the government to prove it.
He alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was doing everything possible to blackmail him because he refused to join the party.
“The APC government has embarked on calculated blackmail against my person because I refused to join the party.
“We all have our minds and what we believe in politics is a thing of the mind.
“In the orchestrated plot to tarnish my image, I am presently before the Federal High Court and a Niger High Court for the same alleged offence.
“This is to show that the government is hell bent on bringing me down but they will not succeed,’’ he said.
Mr. Aliyu said as a governor he served the people of Niger to the best of his ability.
“As a Governor, I left a landmark for posterity, no amount of blackmail or character assassination can wipe me out from the minds of the people,’’ he said.
(NAN)
