Posted by By Stephen Oni /Ilorin on
Former Minister of Environment, Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Halima Tayo Alao, has denied report of her alleged involvement in a N100 million scandal while in office.
Former Minister of Environment, Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Halima Tayo Alao, has denied report of her alleged involvement in a N100 million scandal while in office.
The Kwara state government-owned newspaper, The Herald, had, in its edition of Wednesday, 10 December, 2008, reported that Alao was involved in the resale of a federal government property in Lagos, during her tenure as a minister, using a businessman as a front.
According to the report, the minister resold the property to a businessman who is the chairman of a new generation bank in the country, after her ministry had recovered it from a former Inspector-General of Police, to whom it was earlier sold.
It further alleged that the ex- minister, rather than remitting the N100 million paid by the businessman to the government account, she kept N80 million for herself and allegedly gave some other officials of the ministry the remaining N20 million to share.
The newspaper said the business mogul had been unable to take over the property because Alao was not able to perfect the contract deal before president Umaru Yar'Adua dropped her in a major cabinet reshuffle.
It said the business mogul, not being able to take possession of the property, had requested a refund of his money, threatening to report the matter to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
But the ex- minister, in a statement, denied the story and described it as 'absolute falsehood.' The eight-paragraph statement personally signed by Hajiya Alao, reads in part: 'The story (Herald's story) alleges an act of financial impropriety against me while in office. I wish to deny categorically any involvement in the alleged improper sale of any property whether in Ikoyi, Lagos, or anywhere else for that matter.'
'It is worthy of note that the sale of Federal Government property was, and is still in the purview of the office of the Presidential Committee on Alienation of Federal Government Property.