By Vera Chinonso Aliyu, YeyeNews.com, October 20, 2021
Following the allegation from the Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazak of Kwara State that the Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed stole at least N100m of the campaign funds of the governor, Nigerians have called on the minister to include his name in the list of looters he compiled in 2018.
It will be recalled that Lai Mohammed published a list of alleged looters of public funds in 2018. YeyeNews.com dredged up the report to speak to a political analyst Mr. Deji Abiodun on corruption in Nigerian politics. Mr. Abiodun expressed shock at the governor’s accusations against Mr. Mohammed. “I was truly surprised when I read the accusations of the governor against Lai Mohammed”, Mr. Abiodun said. “He was the person going about tagging the opposition party members as looters of public funds. He even compiled a list of looters some years ago. I hope he remembers to include his name in that list”.
Another respondent – a public servant in Lagos – told YeyeNews.com reporter that the fact that the otherwise loquacious Minister could not respond to the governor’s accusations leaves a lot to be desired. “Imagine the Minister declining to comment on the governor’s accusations when asked on a live television show. Rather he said he will respond at an ‘appropriate time’. That is unlike the Lai Mohammed we know. Its surprising how he tactically chickened out of this fight. Is he trying to placate the governor to not releasing more damning evidence of his culpability? I suspect so”.
An aide of the Kwara State governor told YeyeNews.com that the there is no way the minister can afford to dare Gov. AbdulRahman. “The Minister knows he cannot come on live television to challenge the governor. He knows those he can do that with” the aide said. “This governor does not talk for talking sake. He has all the evidence required to bury the minister politically if he had made any wrong move”.
YeyeNews.com could not get the reaction of the minister to the allegations against him. But a source close to the minister said he cannot confirm or deny the veracity of the allegations. “Only the minister can do that. But from his body language I doubt if he will ever say anything on the subject publicly”.
