Minister-designate denies asset declaration claim

The minister-designate from Nasarawa State, Mr. Ibrahim Usman Jibril, on Friday refuted a report that he would not emulate President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, in declaring his assets publicly. Jibril, who refuted the report in a statement, insisted that he didn’t have any media aide and did not authorise any person to speak on his behalf. A man, Ibrahim Umar, who claimed to be an aide to Jibril, had told our correspondent recently that, “It is not necessary for the minister-designate to emulate Buhari and Osinbajo.” But Jibril denied ever knowing Umar or instructing him to say such thing. He said, “While I am unable to ascertain whether my colleagues quoted in the story spoke to the paper, I can say categorically, without any fear of contradiction that I did not, at any time, speak to anyone from the publication. The newspaper quoted a certain Ibrahim Umar, who claimed to be my media aide. However, I have no such aide or associate. So it is either the quote was manufactured or it was given to the paper by an impostor.”