The Ogun State Government has refuted the news report that the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, was distributing expired COVID-19 palliatives and N5,000 to the civil servants in the state ahead of the forthcoming governorship election.
The state government, in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Kunle Somorin, on Sunday, described the report published by an online medium, the Peoples Gazette, on March 11, as not only false but a totally fabricated and deliberately hatched report to tarnish the personality of Governor Abiodun.
Somorin expressed dismay at the writer’s disregard for journalism ethics by relying on hearsay and not hard facts or evidence before writing the report.
He said the reporter, who according to him had never reflected the angle of Governor Abiodun’s administration on any issue, even when given enough facts to counter false claims, had since inception of the incumbent administration been unnecessarily hostile.
Somorin added that the line of questioning of the reporter whenever he called to get the government’s response on issues had always shown that he was predetermined to write only negative reports about the state government.
The statement, however, denied that Governor Abiodun distributed expired COVID-19 palliatives and money from the Federal Government’s relief funds to woo civil servants for the election, saying the report was the handiwork of members of the opposition who have found the reporter a willing tool to convey their fairy tales.
The statement further reiterated that Governor Abiodun had never and would never induce the electorate to get their votes, but rather has a strong conviction that his administration’s good work will speak for him at the polls.
It urged the people of Ogun State to disregard the report by the People’s Gazette, saying it is part of the deliberate and continued ploy by members of the opposition in the state to discredit Governor Abiodun ahead of the poll next Saturday.
The statement also called on the people not to be swayed by the naked lies covered with the garb of a news report, adding they should troop out next Saturday and vote for Governor Abiodun.
