We did not Issue any statement on Tinubu’s drug trafficking allegations—INEC

We did not Issue any statement on Tinubu’s drug trafficking allegations—INEC

Promise Eze

he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday said that contrary to trending reports, it did not investigate the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over the forfeiture of funds to the United State government in 1993.

A certified true copy of a settlement order issued by a court in the US on forfeiture of funds in bank accounts linked to the former Lagos State governor surfaced on social media on Tuesday.

The court declared that the said funds were proceeds of drug trafficking in the document.

However, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, who defended the APC candidate during a TV interview, claimed that the funds forfeited to the US government were not proceeds of drug deals but tax deductions.

A document claiming INEC was investigating Tinubu for forfeiting money to the US went viral on social media on Friday.

However, in a statement issued by its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, the commission described the document as fake and urged Nigerians to disregard it.

The statement read: “A Press Release purported to have been issued by the Commission has been trending online since yesterday Friday 11th November 2022.

“It claims that the Commission has commenced investigation into a case of criminal forfeiture against one of the presidential candidates in the forthcoming General Election and is liaising with a Court in the United States of America in pursuit of the same to determine a possible violation of our guidelines or the Electoral Act 2022.

“We wish to state categorically that the said Press Release did not emanate from the Commission nor is it pursuing the purported course of action. It is the handiwork of mischief makers and utterly fake.

“Press Releases from the Commission are uploaded to the INEC Press Corps platform and simultaneously disseminated through our website and official social media handles.

“The public is advised to ignore the press release.”

editor

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