A former aide to the former Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Jimi Lawal, has refuted claim in a newspaper (the Nation) that he has been put on watchlist because of his failure to honour an invitation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC.

Lawal, the former Chairman of Kaduna State Economic Development Council, in a rebuttal made available to HorizonTimes said he only got an invitation to appear before the Commission on Wednesday (Tomorrow).

In a statement signed by Austin Oniyokor from Lawal’s media office, the former governorship aspirant in Ogun State explained that he was rescheduled for Wednesday by an official of the ICPC due to the just concluded nationwide strike.

The statement read, “On the 1st of August, 2024, Lawal missed a call from an unknown number. As a highly courteous and responsible citizen, when he called the line back, the person at the other end identified himself as an ICPC official and that he had an invitation letter dated 1st August, 2024, for him to appear at Headquarters of the commission the next day.

“Recall that that was the week the #Endbadgovernanceprotest commenced.

“He (Lawal) drew the attention of the ICPC official to this notorious fact and asked for a rescheduling till after the protest; a request which the official consented to.

“On Monday, 12th August, 2024, Lawal on his own volition called the official to ask for the new date since the protest was over. The official said he would check their schedule and get back to him.

“At about midnight on Monday, 12th August, 2024, the official sent the soft copy of the invitation dated 12th August, 2024, to him.

“The letter, entitled 'RE-INVESTIGATION ACTIVITIES' with Reference No. ICPC/HC/STF/KD/069/2024, was signed by ICPC's Acting Director of Operations, S. Yahaya.”

According to Lawal, the letter reads, "Reference to our letter No. ICPC/HC/STF/KD/069/2024 dated 1st August, 2024.

"Pursuant to the provisions of Section 28 (1) (a) and (b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and your request to reschedule the interview to a later date due to the nationwide protest. Accordingly, the interview has been rescheduled to Wednesday, 14th August, 2024 at 1000 Hours..."

Lawal said further, “Tomorrow is Wednesday, 14th August, 2024. So, how can someone who got a letter of invitation at about midnight on Monday, 12th August, 2024, asking him to report on Wednesday, 14th August, 2024, be said to have absconded?

“Why watchlist someone who called you to ask for an appointment since he has nothing to hide?

Lawal said that it was clear that the so-called investigation is malicious and politically-motivated by the orchestrated media reports to smear his image in the eyes of right-thinking members of the public.

“Otherwise, how does N144 million allegedly traced to his account from some private companies translate to N11 billion?

“As a Senior Counsellor and Chairman, Kaduna State Economic Development Council, Lawal had no budget and authority to approve contracts.

“So, all the noise about N11 billion light rail project is nothing but hot air.”