Following his suspension over some allegations levelled against him, embattled Chairman of Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State, Abdulrazaq Muhammad has finally broken silence.
Muhammed was suspended after a report from the Department of State Security services, (DSS) which passed through the office of the governor to the house alleging that he used his position as council chairman to carry out the undue arrest, intimidate and torture anyone who was against his Oziogu clan.
Responding to the allegations levelled against him in a statement on Wednesday, the suspended Local Government pleaded not guilty to the said allegations.
He urged anyone with verifiable evidence of the allegations to kindly assist the State House of Assembly and Department State Service (DSS) in their investigations.
The statement reads in part “I wish to express my profound gratitude to the Executive Governor of Kogi State, His Excellency, Alh. Yahaya Bello for the opportunity to have served the people of Okene Local Government in various capacities under your leadership.
“Your Excellency, I remain indebted to you and of course my prayers and loyalty to you remain unshaken. May Allah the most merciful be with you always. I want to state clearly that am not guilty of the said allegations against me. I urge anyone with verifiable evidence(s) of the allegations to kindly assist the State House of Assembly and Department State Service (DSS) in their investigations.
”I want to humbly and respectfully appreciate the efforts, loyalty and cooperation of all my cabinet members, His Royal Majesty, Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, traditional rulers, ward heads and community leaders for their unflinching support, advice and in some cases deployed their personal resources to make Okene Local Government a peaceful place to live.
“I thank the general public both within and outside Okene local government council for the show of love, support and solidarity. I urge you all to remain calm as we all await the outcome of the investigations. May the truth prevail”.