Contrary to report in a section of the media that the governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari was flown abroad for an undisclosed illness, it has turned out to be a hoax.
According to a release signed by Maiwada Dammallam SSA (Social Media) to the governor, he said that having failed to competently respond to issues of corruption and mismanagement as alleged by Governor Masari, “It’s obvious the former regime and its foot soldiers is now resorting to desperate measures, if not to disprove, at least to distract the public from ongoing investigations aimed at ascertaining the true financial and administrative position of the State.
“It was for this that a fake story indicating that Governor Masari was flown abroad on a supposed medical emergency was planted in an online magazine “Naija247news”.
According to the statement, the story had all the signs of ill will, unprofessionalism beside lacking in basic journalism ethics.
“There wasn’t minimum attempt by the reporter, “Godwin Clinton” who, in all probability was as fictitious as the story to verify the story from either the SSA Press or the SSA (Social Media) to the Governor despite the good existing relations between the media and Katsina State Government.
“No doubt, the story was a clumsy effort calculated and timed to embarrass and distract the Governor from the gargantuan task of cleaning the mess left behind by the sponsors of “Godwin Clinton”. This is clearer when juxtaposed with the fact that while “Clinton” was busy posting lies about the Governor being flown abroad, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari was in Kwatta village in Mani Local Government where he went on a condolence visit to the family of one of his co-ordinators, Alhaji Lawal Kwatta whose 2 children drowned in a well in the village.
“To further disprove the story, Governor Masari had the moral and physical enthusiasm to visit an “almajiri” school in a nearby village where he physically inspected the living conditions of the students and interacted with them. He also had the time to visit another village on his way back to the capital city of Katsina where he watched a football match between two local teams of neighbouring villages. Interestingly, the match venue was agog when the convoy of the Governor stopped at the venue as the visit was unscheduled. Altogether, the day was interesting and lively for both the Governor and the very elated people who had a rare chance of a “one on one” encounter with their Governor. Surely, “Godwin Clinton” must have had another Governor of another Katsina State on another planet as the subject of his tall tales not Governor Aminu Bello Masari that had an active and fulfilling day in the villages of Mani Local Government yesterday 2/8/15,” the statement said.