7th March, 2014
Stephen Oni/ Ilorin
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje has denied the rumour making the rounds that he is being probed by the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
The rumour mill claimed that Baraje was being probed over the award of some contracts when he was the chairman of Nigeria Railway Corporation. He also debunked rumour about his health’s status, saying that “I’m hale and hearty”.
Speaking in a telephone interview from Medina in Saudi Arabia where he is performing Umrah, the lesser Hajj, Baraje said the rumour about his being probed was not only untrue but unfounded, describing the development as a calculated attempt by his detractors to smear his name.
He clarified that he neither awarded any shady contract during his tenure as Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, nor when he was Chairman of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, as well as Chairman of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, NAMA,
The APC Chieftain, who said he was hale and hearty, disclosed that he would be visiting London and the United States of America, USA, to attend crucial meetings before returning back to Nigeria.
Reacting to the removal of Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi as the Minister of Sports, Baraje welcomed the former Minister back home and described him as a gallant son of not only Ilorin, but also a pride to Kwara state being one of the best Sports Ministers Nigeria has ever had considering his achievements while in office.
According to him, it would permanently be on record that during Abdullahi’s tenure, Nigeria won the Nations cup for the third time, won the under 17 World Cup for the fifth time, won laurels in basket ball and badminton, revitalised the National Sports Commission and repositioned the domestic league in line with global best practices.