The Yobe State Government has dismissed claims that a ₦600 million donation pledged to a university project in Jos came from public funds, describing the contributions as entirely personal.
In a statement issued by Mamman Mohammed, Director-General of Press and Media Affairs to the Governor, the government said the pledges were made by the Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Hon. Kabiru Masari, during a seminar organised by the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS) in Jos on Sunday 23 August.
Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe attended the event alongside the governors of Kano, Sokoto and Jigawa states and other guests. The programme began with a courtesy call on Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang before moving to the seminar venue, where the visitors delivered goodwill messages.
Speaking last, Hon. Masari said he had been informed that JIBWIS was building a university. He announced a personal donation of ₦300 million and a further ₦300 million pledge on behalf of Governor Buni.
The Yobe government stressed that both amounts were personal contributions. “The donations made by Hon. Kabiru Masari on behalf of his humble self, and Governor Buni, were very personal and not on behalf of the Yobe State Government,” the statement said. It added that Masari had no authority to make any pledge or decision for the state government.
The government described suggestions that the money would come from Yobe State resources as “totally false, inaccurate, misleading and a distortion of facts.”
