The Nasarawa State Government says it did not give any N264 million to the 24 members of the state House of Assembly as a Coronavirus (COVID-19) palliative.
The government is reacting to reports trending on social media alleging that it gave each of the 24 lawmakers N11 million to assist their constituents during the current COVID-19 crisis.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Tijjani Aliyu Ahmed, a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lafia.
The SSG described the report as “untrue, false and malicious aimed at, not only tarnishing the image of our honourable members, but also that of the Governor of Nasarawa State”.
He, however, explained that vehicles were bought for members of the legislature to facilitate their oversight functions in line with existing practice as provided by law and other extant regulations.
While calling on the people of the state to ignore such reports, the SSG urged the public to “also consider it as handwork of mischief-makers bent on bringing disaffection on the already existing cordial relationship between the executive and the legislative arms of government in the state”.
He further appealed to the people of the state to always seek clarification on government activities from appropriate quarters, warning that government will not hesitate to sanction those spreading fake news. (NAN)