The news making the round alleging Senate President Ahmad Lawan in cahoots with some other members of the Red Chamber of demanding N2bn from Prof. Mahmood Yakubu before confirming him as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has drawn the reaction of the man at the center of the scandal.
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Yakubu had been reappointed by President Muhammadu Buhari for a second five-year tenure and is now left for Senate to confirm his appointment.
A report by an online news medium accused Lawan and some persons of demanding N2bn bribe from the nominee to facilitate his confirmation, a claim a statement released by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Senate President, Ola Awoniyi dismissed with vitriol hurled at the accuser.
The statement read in part, “The online medium has long earned its notoriety as a purveyor of fake news with high-profile public officials as its targets. It is well known that only the President can nominate a candidate for appointment or reappointment as Chairman of INEC.
“Only the Senate as a body can confirm or reject the appointment, after due screening of the candidate.”
