An advocacy group for transparency and good governance, Transparency Watch, has condemned attempts to link Senator Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari to the abduction of six Islamic clerics travelling to Talata Mafara in Zamfara State.
The group described as false the rumour that the clerics were abducted at Senator Yari’s residence in Talata Mafara.
In a statement by its Director of Public Affairs, Cliff Richards, Transparency Watch said the narrative was aimed at blackmailing Yari following his appointment as the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council.
The group described the allegation as propaganda by what it called mischief makers and appealed to them to allow Yari to carry out his responsibilities without undue distraction.
The statement reads in part: “We have noted with concern the efforts being made by mischief makers to give Yari a bad name following his appointment as the Director General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council. The latest in that negative effort is the false narrative that six Islamic clerics were abducted at Senator Yari’s residence in Talata Mafara, Zamfara State. This is nothing but vile propaganda aimed at blackmailing Yari.
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“The truth of the matter is that the clerics were abducted by suspected bandits in a place called Gidan Suleiman Bature on their way to Talata Mafara for special prayers. They were nowhere near Yari’s residence in Talata Mafara. The fairy tale linking Senator Yari to the incident is concocted apparently because the Imams were invited by Yari to Talata Mafara for special prayers in aid of the re-election of President Bola Tinubu. Those behind the false rumour want to give the impression that Yari is failing in his assignment.
“We see this development as sheer mischief aimed at weakening Yari and dampening the enthusiasm of those he is associated with in this national assignment. We repudiate this bent towards malicious propaganda and urge those behind this ugly disposition to come off it and embrace positive competition. We are aware of the fact that Senator Yari’s commitment to Tinubu’s re-election is total.
“That is why he is leaving no stone unturned in the effort to realize that objective. The prayer session which the imams were supposed to undertake is one of them. Given the times we are in, it will not be out of place to say that enemies of the project are working”
According to the group, the rumour was intended to distract Yari from his political activities and undermine his new assignment.
It urged those behind the allegation to desist from what it described as malicious propaganda and allow the senator to focus on his responsibilities.