Ondo state government has denounced news making the rounds that the state commissioner for finance, Wale Akinteriwa, diverted some of the fuel subsidy palliatives.
Akinteriwa, who is the chairman, Ondo State Palliative Strategy and Implementation Committee, has been accuse by netizens of diverting parts of the bags of rice meant for vulnerables in the state.
The commissioner for information and orientation, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, in a statement made available to TheReports described the accusation as false and misleading.
Ademola-Olateju said, “Ondo State Palliative Strategy and Implementation Committee disavow in unequivocal terms the picture of a mini bag of rice bearing the picture of the committee Chairman, Mr. Wale Akinterinwa with “Palliative Show” boldly inscribed on it.
“This totally fake, misleading, and derogatory picture seeks to subliminally portray Mr. Akinterinwa as having diverted rice meant for the vulnerable in Ondo State, for political campaign.
“On behalf of the committee, we want the public to disregard the picture and its accompaniments as the concoction of idle hatchet men, bent on creating doubts and public distrust about the hard-working palliative committee and its programs.
“We emphatically state that there is no truth to the claim. Mr. Akinterinwa did not divert rice or any other public good in the custody of the palliative committee.
The commissioner reiterated the committee’s commitment “to probity, transparency, and accountability during implementation and distribution of palliatives occasioned by the removal of subsidy”.
She urged “the public to be vigilant enough to identify mischief makers and leave them to their designs”.
