Date: 2013-08-15

The wife of the Kwara State Governor, Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed, has denied media reports that her office receives a N3m monthly grant from the Office of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan. She equally denied insinuations that the wife of the former governor of the state, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, has been receiving and withholding the alleged grant despite her husband leaving office in 2011.

In a statement issued in Ilorin, the state capital, Mrs. Ahmed described the allegations, published in a section of the soft sell press, as false and a fabrication of the reporters’ fertile imagination. "There has never been a grant to my office or that of the wife of the former governor, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, from the Office of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan or her predecessor, now or in the past"

‘For the avoidance of doubt, let me state that I am unaware of the grant referred to in the publication.  I do not give any money whatsoever to Mrs. Saraki neither is she withholding any funds belonging to me personally or to my office. The relationship between Mrs. Saraki and I remains cordial and cannot be undermined by spurious and unprofessional publications.

‘I urge the media to uphold the principle of balanced reporting and cross-check their information before rushing to publish falsehood as such behaviour is neither in the public interest nor that of the wrongly defamed parties".