No N25billion Corruption Charges Were Dropped For Me In Exchange For Dumping Senate Presidency Ambition — Goje

Goje
Senator Danjuma Goje

The senator representing Gombe Central Senatorial District and a former governor of the state, Danjuma Goje, has dismissed claims that he faced corruption charge totaling N25 billion.

The former governor said this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, which was signed by Paul Erokoro, his lawyer.

Erokoro who was reacting to recent reports in the media that corruption charge being faced by the senator was withdrawn following his decision to step down from the Senate president race in June, described the claims as “untrue”.

“The so-called “N25b fraud” that has been bandied about in the media, never featured in the case.

“The sum total of all the monies mentioned in the charge was about N8b.

“Of that total, N5billion was a loan taken from Access Bank for completion of infrastructural projects such as the Gombe airport, waterworks, numerous roads, Gombe Jewel Hotels, schools, hospitals, and rural electrification.

“The bank testified in Court that the money was properly utilised for the projects. The EFCC investigators also confirmed to the Court that the projects were all completed.”

“Other witnesses told the court that the governor never awarded any contract for the supply of food to Government House and Government Guest Houses during his tenure for the N1 billion alleged in the charge or for any other sum.

“On the N1.6 billion for the supply of English Dictionaries for primary and secondary schools, the Court was told that Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) gave its approval and that the contract was advertised in two newspapers and that reputable book publishers and suppliers tendered and that State Universal Basic Education Board awarded the contract to the lowest bidder.”

The lawyer revealed also that all the 19 counts of the charge around the above monetary issues collapsed during the trial.

The prosecution witnesses were said to have completely exonerated the defendants, hence the 19 counts were all dismissed by the court, on the ground of No Case submission.