By Celestine Ihejirika, Jalingo.
Strong rumor of mass protest looms in Taraba state over an alleged N150 billion bribe received by Taraba Law-makers from governor Agbu Kefas to approve N350 billion bond.
Recall that the house gave approval for the state governor to take a bond of N350 billion recently and some sections of society allege that the governor gave N150 billion as a kickback to the house to secure their approval, a situation that raises anger by the suffering youths.
But in a shift reaction, the House Committee chairman on Information and member representing Nguroje constituency, Hon. Nelson Len in a media report said the allegations were not only far-fetched but baseless and mere fabricated.
The law-maker insisted that governor Kefas does not need to bribe the house for the members to perform the constitutional responsibilities which they were elected for.
According to him, the house approved the bond request after duly considered it as the best option for the state, he said.
“we are not rubber-stamped as people say, we were not elected to come and oppose the executive arm but were elected to work collaboratively with the governor to provide the needed dividends of democracy to the people”.
But the publicity secretary of All Progressive Congress (APC) National Youth Vanguard, Mr. Rikwense Muri, said that he reliably gathered that each of the 24 members of the state assembly was given N50 million to N80 million before the bond request was approved.
Contacted over the protest rumor, ex-Nigeria’s envoy to Trinidad and Tobago Hassan Jika Ardo expressed dismay over mortgaging Taraba state financial future.
According to him, his concern comes in the wake of the Assembly law-makers’ approval of N350 billion bond for governor Agbu Kefas.
Speaking in a telephone interview on Thursday with our correspondent in Jalingo, the former ambassador dismissed knowledge on the alleged protest rumor in the state.
According to him, the quest for the bond is unaccepted as there was nothing to show on ground two years after by governor Agbu Kefas’ government “I was a diplomat and will not subscribe to any protest be it peaceful or not because sometimes what you think can be peaceful may ended up become violent”, he said.
