By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Sokoto State Government has dismissed opposition Peoples Democratic party, PDP,'s false 30billion contract claims in their ongoing campaign to distract and derail governor Ahmed Aliyu.

The government described the claims as malicious, unsubstantiated and blatant lie sponsored by the PDP to discredit the hardworking Governor.

It stated that the ongoing orchestrated campaign is targeted at stopping the constructive engagement with the good people of Sokoto State through the delivery of good governance by Governor Aliyu.

This was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by the governor's Chief Press Secretary, Abubakar Bawa and made available to News Express.

The Statement reads" Ordinarily, we wouldn't have honoured PDP with a response but for the fact that the Governor Aliyu administration is responsible to the people of Sokoto State who overwhelmingly voted him to lead them.

"First, the Governor Aliyu government did not award any contract worth N30 billion for "street fence" in Sokoto State as maliciously claimed by PDP in its tale of lies against our dear state. The government also has no plans to award any "street fence" contract valued at N30 billion.

"Therefore, it is in PDP's imagination that this contract exist and as such their call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the phantom "?30 billion" expenditure is mere academic exercise.

"The facts, as they concern the ongoing urban redevelopment of the state metropolis, which is one of the focal points of Gov. Aliyu's administration, is that the state government awarded a contract valued at ?800 million which covers the much needed and necessary wire-fencing of selected major roads/highways within the metropolis

"The project was primarily awarded to deter people, especially school children, from running across major roads and getting knocked down by speeding vehicles.

"Prior to this, Sokoto state capital had recorded preventable deaths from accidents involving vehicles and people running across major roads.

"However, the provision of this preventive facilities across major roads in the state, has led to reduced rate of accidents involving pedestrians and animals as road crossings are now sequestered to designated points.

"We have observed that since the wire fence was erected there is drastic reduction in cases of accidents involving pedestrians and even animals along the major roads in the metropolis.

"The wire fencing project is also part of the present administration's effort to beautify the city, which was hitherto filled up with heaps of refuse and darkness.

"We know that PDP, as the opposition party in Sokoto State, is not happy with this development.

"This is because in its eight years in charge of the state, it did not consider saving lives of the people a project that deserved its attention.

"In those eight years, too, the party failed to take any action towards upgrading the urban nature of the state capital neither did it take any positive steps towards upscaling public infrastructure in the state capital.

"We are aware that PDP couldn't have done any of these because it was never present among the people as it preferred to govern from Abuja.

"This was the basic reason the people of the state overwhelmingly rejected it in the 2023 governorship election and preferred the All Progressives Congress (APC) through Gov. Aliyu, who has so far not betrayed the trust of people of the state.

"We therefore urged PDP to exert more energy towards revamping its battered image and seek better ways to reposition itself as it has become obvious that malicious lies, which are aimed at inciting the people against Gov. Aliyu, will only hit brickwalls.

"We call on the good people of Sokoto State, who already are aware of the antics of the State Chapter of PDP, to disregard all the lies of the parry against Gov. Aliyu and stand firm with him as he works diligently and accountable to deliver the Sokoto of their dream and restore their confidence in government.?

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