By Tobi Soniyi in Abuja
The Presidency has denied as untrue, the allegation that allowances due to former President Goodluck Jonathan had been stopped and his bank accounts frozen.
In a statement issued yesterday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, the presidency said it had confirmed with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) that the former president and other past leaders were paid their allowances up to the second quarter.
The statement, however, did not specifically mention Jonathan as the affected president.
The statement said: “The allegation by demonstrators in Bayelsa State on Thursday that allowances due to a former president have been stopped and his bank accounts were frozen is patently untrue.”
The president said that past leaders had not been paid third quarter allowances but that they would get their dues when remittances were received by the SGF from the Ministry of Finance.
The statement said: “Also, the story of account closure is false. It is not known to the investigation agencies.
“The National Security Adviser to the President is not aware of this bank account closure; the DG SSS is unaware of it, the EFCC is unaware and the IG of Police is not in the know.
“With all of these agencies not being involved, how then could a thing like that happen? In a dream perhaps!
“To put it starkly, we believe there is a clear motive for the demonstration that is different from that which was being canvassed.
“This is a premeditated attempt to blame President Muhammadu Buhari for something he knows nothing about.
“These claims are false and poorly sourced to present a picture of vendetta; and they should be disregarded by well-meaning members of the public.
“Buhari remains committed to the ideals of justice and fairness to all irrespective of creed, religion and political leanings. His administration will not engage in vendetta.”
