The presidency has accused human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, of being someone with a strong reputation for exaggerations and embellishments.
The accusation was made in a statement on Wednesday by the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi.
The statement comes as a response to a viral video in which Falana knocked the federal government for giving the sum of N135billion COVID-19 funds to the 36 states of the federation in December 2023 at a memorial event in honour of Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti.
Falana had called out the government for giving out the funds when COVID-19 was no longer a threat, saying such amounts to frivolous spending.
However, in response, the presidency said Falana’s statement was a pure representation of facts and an attempt to misinform the public.
The statement added that the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank are still supporting countries, including Nigeria, to strengthen their health systems and emergency preparedness for other outbreaks that may occur.
The presidency clarified that the N135.4billion disbursed to the states, follows an independent assessment of results achieved under the Nigeria Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus Programme and the aim of the NG-CARES Programme backed by the World Bank, which is being implemented in all the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, is to mitigate the economic and social shocks faced by vulnerable people, who are yet to get their livelihoods back as a result of the lockdown occasioned by the pandemic.
Ajayi added that the Tinubu government is not afraid of accountability but won’t encourage people to sell half-truths and embellishments to the public. He added that criticisms should be constructive and fact-based.
